The father applied for a hearing at the Supreme Court last October, submitting that the increased sentence of life he received at the court of appeal was disproportionate to the 18.5 years received by the children's uncle at the same court

The Court of Appeal found that his original 15-year sentence was too lenient

The trial judge described the case, which involved the sexual abuse and neglect of a number of young children, as 'sheer horror'

The court heard that after they were placed in care, the eldest three children started to make disclosures in relation to sexual abuse at the hands of their parents and other relatives