Man who gave abortion drugs to pregnant woman has jail term increased

By Danny Halpin, Reporter27th February 2025News EnglandAbortion, Courts / Justice, Domestic Abuse / Violence, News England, Norfolk, Pregnancy

A man who gave abortion drugs to a pregnant woman without her knowledge and caused her to lose her baby has had his jail sentence increased by five years at the Court of Appeal.

Stuart Worby (pictured), 40, was jailed for 12 years in December after a jury found he had deceived the woman into being tied up and blindfolded, during which time he gave her the drugs.

He was convicted of administering a poison or using an instrument with intent to procure a miscarriage and assault by penetration.

The case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

At a hearing on Thursday, judges increased Worby’s sentence to 17 years in prison.

The miscarriage required medical intervention for the woman and may have caused permanent physical or psychological damage, the court heard.

Lady Justice Macur, sitting with Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb and Mr Justice Sweeting, said the woman’s chances of having a child again are now “remote”.

She increased Worby’s sentence after finding that the previous judge miscategorised the assault offence.

Paul Jarvis, for the AGO, told the court in London: “There are no definitive guidelines for this offence yet. That means any sentencing judge is confronted with a difficult task.

“There was a potential guideline for a different offence that was arguably available to the learned judge, if he had been invited to consider it.

“We have suggested that the analogous guideline here is one of wounding or causing serious harm with intent.”

He said the judge could have followed guidelines for this offence as it carries the same maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He continued: “On the facts, a miscarriage was procured. It is proof of the administration of a poison with intent and here in fact that had taken place.

“Procuring a woman’s miscarriage without her consent is at the very least as serious as causing her really serious physical or psychological harm.”

Simon Spence KC, for Worby, said the judge was “impeccably placed” to make a decision.

He said: “This was clearly, from any aspect, a difficult and highly emotional case but in our submission a very experienced judge, having heard the evidence, took a proper approach to sentence.

“He heard from both the victim and Mr Worby and was able to form a view of those individuals.

“We say he got the sentencing exercise pretty much spot on.”

Lady Justice Macur agreed that the sentence was unduly lenient, describing the deception and blindfolding as having “no overly sexual motive but an equally wicked design”.

The sentencing judge’s decision to reduce Worby’s jail time for not having previously offended was also “excessively generous”, she added.

She said: “The extreme impact on the victim is apparent. Notably, her self-belief for misjudging the offender’s character and consenting to a sexual activity in which she was disempowered.”

Worby’s crimes were a “gross abuse of trust”, she added, giving the woman the “ongoing realisation that she now bears, that she may never have the chance to conceive a child and carry a child to birth again.”