Jail term cuts for notorious Sydney gang rapists Bilal and Mohammed Skaf have angered politicians and a victim's father, who say it reinforces the view judges are out of touch.
Premier Nathan Rees says he'll seek to appeal the decision, which reduced the brothers' terms for one of a number of sex crimes.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday dismissed their conviction challenges relating to their re-trial over the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at Gosling Park, in Sydney's west, on August 12, 2000.
But the court shaved time off their sentences for the attack, to take into account their other jail terms.
The cuts mean Bilal Skaf's overall term, for three separate attacks, has been reduced from 38 years to 36 years, and his earliest release date on parole will be in February 2031 instead of February 2033.
His brother's overall term, for two separate attacks, has been cut from 26 to 23 years, and his earliest parole date will be in January 2018, instead of July 2019.
Bilal Skaf, 26, and his 25-year-old brother had their original convictions for the Gosling Park attack overturned after it was discovered two jurors conducted their own investigations at the rape scene.
At their retrial, the older brother was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent in company, while Mohammed was found guilty of being an accessary before the fact.
Mohammed was found to have lured the teenager to the park, before his brother - the leader of a group of up to 14 men - attacked the girl, who also had a gun placed at her head.
Mr Rees said he wanted to appeal the cuts to the sentences and was investigating whether it was possible.
"This is exactly the sort of decision by the judiciary that gives rise to claims in the community that the judiciary is out of touch," Mr Rees told reporters.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Greg Smith also criticised the cuts, saying they would not deter other "yobbos" from committing the same offence.
The brothers are also serving time over the gang rape of another teenager at Bankstown, just two weeks after the Gosling Park attacks.
That teenager's father told Macquarie Radio the cuts were "unbelievable", saying: "I don't get it. What's the go with judges and their court of criminal appeal?".
In the appeal judgement, the court rejected a claim the Gosling Park case should have been permanently "stayed" due to previous, considerable adverse publicity.
The brothers argued the publicity meant they could not, and ultimately did not, receive a fair trial.
But the appeal court concluded the pre-trial publicity would not have distracted the jury from "its proper function", given the trial judge's proper instructions to them on the issue.
In relation to Bilal Skaf's sentence, the court said it took into account his conditions in custody which involve a "high level of security" and being on protection.
This means his access to work, education, welfare facilities, visits, sport and fitness training, and religious observance is limited or restricted.
The court noted his brother's health problems, being unwell but in remission from Hodgkin's disease, and other factors including being under the influence of his older brother.
The reduction was Bilal Skaf's second sentence cut, having originally been given an overall record term of 55 years.
