Ms Baird, the police and crime commissioner for Northumbria and the former Solicitor General for England and Wales, said uncertainty created by changing the sentence would be "very poisonous".
...

"You can't be charged with a more serious offence than you knew you were committing at the time.

Peter Garsden, president of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, said the sentencing process was "a bit of an anachronism" and it didn't "make much logical sense" for judges to use old guidelines.

"I think that there needs to be a change of law. I found the logic to be quite bizarre but it's a well-ingrained sentencing policy and that seems to be the justification for it.

"If you said to the public the reason Rolf Harris's sentence was shorter was because the judge was tied by old sentencing guidelines, they would find it somewhat bizarre.

"The victim has suffered many more years of torment waiting for this case to come to court so therefore the damage to the victims is greater and the sentence should be greater.

"It's a bit like saying that somebody who committed a murder in 1963 and is tried now should actually be hung [sic] because the sentencing guidelines then were that there should be a hanging."

Today, for the first time it can be revealed that Harris faced the possibility of a second trial on child porn charges.

The court heard that the images were found on his computer when police searched his home in Bray in 2012. Harris logged onto porn sites then tried to cover it up. His browsing history showed he had been logging on to various illicit websites. He was charged with four counts of making indecent images of a child between March and July 2012.

Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC said today that in the light of the convictions the Crown Prosecution Service had decided it would not be in the public interest to go ahead with the case.

Inquiry expected to look into handling of claims by government, NHS and BBC after PM promises 'no stone will be left unturned'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31156427

What I hate about these cases is the judiciary will often tack on derisory sentences as if 'newer' victims somehow matter less.

How’s a long sentence going to help when you’ve got someone in his 80s who will very likely not live for the full term?