The attorney general has decided against referring the sentence passed on Rolf Harris for indecently assaulting young women to the court of appeal as too lenient.
When the 84 year-old TV presenter and artist was jailed for five years and nine months this month, there was a flood of complaints to the attorney general's office.
But the office said yesterday that the judge at Southwark crown court, Mr Justice Sweeney, had been bound by the sentencing regulations in force when the offences were committed. A spokesman said that "after very careful consideration'' the attorney general, Jeremy Wright, did not think the court of appeal would find the sentence unduly lenient and increase it.
"The judge made some of the sentences consecutive to reach the total sentence, but he could not simply add up sentences on individual counts; the overall sentence had to be just and proportionate to the overall offending. The judge was also required to take into account the age of the offender. The attorney general understands that his decision may be a disappointment to some people."
Harris was unanimously found guilty of molesting four girls – one was just seven or eight and was groped when she asked for his autograph, and another two who fell prey as young teenagers.
The veteran presenter, who charmed television audiences for decades, was also convicted of a catalogue of abuse against his daughter's then best friend, who prosecutors said Harris groomed from the age of 13 and used like "his little toy".
The accusations related to offences between 1968 and 1986. The girls were targeted between the ages of seven or eight and 19. After Harris's conviction, the Metropolitan police revealed that they are considering a number of allegations against him.
In the past year, one of the main reasons for the increase in the prison population has been the conviction of almost 700 sex offenders. That has led to a greater focus on the treatment and rehabilitation of high risk sex offenders. The number of specialist prison units for treating sex offenders has expanded to eight with some using drugs to suppress the sexual urges of inmates.
The justice secretary Chris Grayling said: "We make no apologies for putting sex offenders where they deserve – in jail.
"But when they are there it is important that we deal with their offending behaviour – that means programmes consistent with the best evidence, targeted at those who pose the greatest threat."
