Northern Territory prosecutors have asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the "lenient" sentence handed to a violent sexual offender, who could be released on parole in 2024.
In April 2020, disguised with a plastic bag over his head and slits cut out for eye holes, and brandishing a pair of scissors, Troy Benning, 26, broke into the suburban home of a single mother in the middle of the night.
As her children slept, Benning violently assaulted the woman, leaving her wondering how she would survive and begging him for her life.
Benning pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including rape, deprivation of liberty and making a threat to kill and was sentenced in February this year by Justice Sonia Brownhill to a total of seven years in jail, with a non-parole period of four years.
His sentence was backdated to when he was arrested shortly after the attack, meaning Benning will be eligible for parole in April 2024.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Victoria Engel, told a bench of three Supreme Court judges the sentence was "manifestly inadequate", urging them to overturn it and keep him in prison longer.
She told the court Benning had broken into the victim's home while she was baking in the kitchen and, after learning she was the only adult in the house, forced her into a bedroom where he raped her.
"If we look at the break-and-enter [charge] in isolation and take into account the aggravated features, we ended up with a total sentence of two years for that, and that's an offence that carries life in prison," Ms Engel said.
"If that is correct, that [Justice Brownhill] assessed the overall [offending] as very serious, that was not reflected in the sentence that was imposed."
Ms Engel told the court the assault was "prolonged" and left the victim with post-traumatic stress disorder, while her daughter also continued to live with the distress of witnessing the aftermath of the attack.
"Toward the end of the offending, she felt compelled to yell out to her daughter for help and her 10-year-old daughter found her," Ms Engel said.
In urging the court to consider increasing Benning's sentence, Ms Engel referred to a recent appeal of a separate violent attack in Darwin, which saw another man's sentence increased by three years.
Acting for Benning, Ambrith Abayasekara conceded the sentence imposed by Justice Brownhill was "very lenient" but argued Benning had a personality disorder and that committing sexual offences was "completely uncharacteristic" for him.
"The sentence was two years for a serious example of a home invasion… with a maximum [sentence] of life… how can that possibly be justified?" Justice Judith Kelly said.
"It is a very lenient sentence, particularly in relation to count one [of unlawful entry]," Mr Abayasekara said.
The three appeal judges will hand down their decision at a later date.
