THE SUPREME COURT has restored the original prison sentence handed to a man for raping his wife.

In May 2014, he forced his wife upstairs in their home using a knife and attacked her.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton said: “The husband produced a knife and threatened his wife that he would ‘cut open’ her face.”

The original trial judge imposed a 10-year sentence before an appeal court judge “incorrectly” reduced it to eight and a half years, for a “very serious” rape, Judge Charleton said.

He added: “The accused has not demonstrated any error in the approach to sentencing on the crime of rape by the Central Criminal Court.

“The alteration of that sentence by the Court of Appeal did not accord with law.

“The order of the Court of Appeal will be quashed and replaced with the sentence originally imposed by Kennedy J.”

During the night following the rape, the victim “pretended reconciliation”, he said. “She was anxious to protect their child from the nasty scene.”

In the morning she went to the family law courts.

The judge said: “He rang her and threatened to kill her the next day.”

For the events of the day of May 25, three charges were laid: one of rape, one of threat to cause serious harm, and one of threat to kill. There were also counts of threats on other occasions.

The accused pleaded not guilty but was convicted at trial of all of these.

On June 9, the husband “accosted” the wife at a shopping centre and told her the next time she saw him she would not see him coming and he would be armed with a hammer, the judge said.

This was subject to a separate charge and conviction.

The judge added: “Over that time there was constant checking by the husband of the wife’s movements through smartphone technology.”

On August 6 the husband turned up carrying a bag at the wife’s parents’ home and demanded entry but was refused.

The next day there were two visits to the parents’ home where he first spoke to the wife’s mother. On the second occasion he came back with the bag.

The judge said: “Claiming this was a present for their child, he gained entry.

“He produced a hammer and struck the wife several times on the head and also hit her mother on the head.

“While the injuries from an attack of that kind could have resulted in death or serious injury, the result was multiple injuries to the wife including three deep lacerations, and both she and her mother were brought to hospital.

“That attack was the subject of two charges to which the accused pleaded guilty.”