The supreme court on Tuesday raised the prison sentence of a rapist from eight to 12 years, upholding a state appeal.

The man had been sentenced to eight years in jail by the Paphos criminal court for three rapes and attempted rapes in the Polis area last year.

The sentence was appealed by the state as insufficient, an argument upheld by the supreme court, which added four years to the man’s prison time.

He had been charged with three counts of rape, assault and burglary.

The defendant used to break into homes when seeing women were alone and raped them. In some cases, however, the women fought back and cried for help before he managed to pin them down and gag them, forcing him to flee the scene.