Director of Public Prosecutions v Asare (a pseudonym)
[2024] VCC 300
•22 March 2024
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| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| OMAR ASARE (A PSEUDONYM) |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE TIWANA | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | Trial 24 May – 5 June 2023; Plea 5 October 2023, 15 December 2023 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 22 March 2024 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Asare (a pseudonym) | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 300 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:Criminal Law – Sentence
Catchwords: Guilty verdicts following trial by jury – Convicted of seven offences of sexual assault of a child under 16, one offence of sexual penetration of a step-child, and one offence of sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 – Victim aged nine and step-child of the offender – Significant breach of trust – Three separate incidents – All offences subject to standard sentencing – Youthful offender – Traumatic background – Limbs five and six of Verdins engaged – Application of Bugmy principles – Prior good character – General deterrence – Denunciation – Sentenced as a serious sexual offender on charges 3 through to 9 – Registration for life.
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958; Sentencing Act 1991; Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004.
Cases Cited:R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269; R v Bugmy (2013) 249 CLR 571.
Sentence: Total effective sentence of 9 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 5 years and 6 months.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr P. Teo | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr A. Hands (Trial) Ms E. McKinnon (Plea) | Marshall Jovanovska Ralph Criminal Lawyers MCD Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
Introduction
1Omar Asare,[1] on 2 June 2023,[2] you were convicted by a jury, of one charge of sexual penetration of a step-child,[3] seven charges of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16,[4] and one charge of sexual activity in the presence of a child under the age of 16.[5]
[1] A pseudonym.
[2]Jury were discharged on 5 June 2023 after failing to agree on the remaining two charges.
[3]Charge 5, contrary to s 50D(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, as amended by the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2016.
[4]Charges 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9, contrary to s 49D of the Crimes Act 1958, as amended by the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2016.
[5]Charge 6, contrary to s 49D of the Crimes Act 1958, as amended by the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2016.
2The jury were unable to reach verdicts on two other charges,[6] which the prosecution discontinued.
[6] Charges 10 and 11 on the indictment.
3Sexual penetration of a step-child carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment. This is a Category 1 offence[7] and is subject to the standard sentence regime; the standard sentence being 10 years’ imprisonment.
[7]Sentencing Act 1991 s3(1).
4Sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 and sexual activity in the presence of a child under the age of 16, carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. These offences also attract a standard sentence of 4 years’ imprisonment.
Circumstances of the offending
5It now falls upon me to sentence you in respect of the offending of which you were found guilty.
6You will be sentenced on a basis consistent with the verdict of the jury. Your counsel accepted that this means you fall to be sentenced on the evidence your victim gave at trial in respect of the nine charges.
7At the time of the offending, you were 22 years of age, and married to Awa Faye.[8] You had a child together born in 2017. The victim was the biological daughter of your wife and had been living in Africa until she migrated to Australia in April 2019. Upon her arrival, she lived with you, Ms Faye, and her step-sister. She was your step-child and only nine years old during the offending period.
[8] A pseudonym.
8All the offending occurred in the family home sometime between 1 April 2019 and 16 January 2020. At the time of the offending, your wife having gone on work to Western Australia, you were caring for your daughter and the victim.
First Incident – Charges 1 to 5
9On a night between 1 April 2019 and 16 January 2020, you called the victim into the bedroom to watch a movie. Your daughter, you and the victim watched Madagascar in bed. At some stage your daughter fell asleep and you turned the television off. You then removed the victim’s clothes, as well as taking your clothes off.
10You were lying flat on the bed and pulled the victim onto you. You placed your hands on her waist and began pushing her back and forwards. As you did this, your penis was touching against the outside of her vagina (Charge 1). You then started rubbing the outside of her vagina with your hands and ‘squishing’[9] it (Charge 2). You then placed your mouth on her breast, and ‘squished’[10] it very hard. (Charge 3). At this stage your daughter woke up but did not see anything as you had pushed the victim back on the bed and covered yourself.
[9]As described by the victim.
[10]As described by the victim.
11The victim was trying to leave but you stopped her by holding her hands. You said to her to ‘come here’, but she told you that she wanted to go to the toilet and have a shower. You told her to ‘go and come back’ and that she could shower with her sister later. The victim, still naked, went to the toilet, and you followed her. Once she finished, you were waiting at the door. You held her hands and pushed her back on the bed. The victim asked you if she could go next to her sister, so that your daughter would be in the middle, between you and the victim. You said no. You again rubbed the outside of her vagina with your hands (Charge 4).
12You then placed the victim on top of you. Your penis penetrated her vagina. She describes the penis going “inside a little” (Charge 5). As you daughter was about to wake up, you got up and put your clothes on. You stopped the victim from putting her clothes on, so she covered herself with the blanket. At some stage, the victim got up and put her clothes on.
Second Incident – charges 6, 7 and 8
13On another occasion, the victim was on her iPad speaking with her friends. At some stage you told her to come and cuddle. She told you that she wanted to read books, but you said she could do that later. You were on one end of your bed and her sister was sleeping on the other end. You took hold of the victim’s hand and pushed her on top of you. You removed your and the victim’s clothes. You then rubbed the outside of her vagina with your hand (Charge 7), and at the same time, you rubbed your penis with your other hand (Charge 6). You then kissed and sucked her vagina with your mouth (Charge 8). As your daughter was about to wake up, you told the victim to get off. You put on your clothes and also dressed the victim.
14The victim then went to sleep in her bedroom.
Third Incident – Charge 9
15The following morning when the victim woke up, you were sleeping next to her in her lower bunk bed. She tried to move to the upper bed but you woke up and asked her to cuddle. She told you she was sleepy. You grabbed her and put her on top of you, and removed both her and your clothes. You started touching her body, and went onto rub the outside of her vagina with your hand (Charge 9). The victim removed your hand off her. You got angry, put your clothes back on, and left the room.
16At some stage, when your wife was in Perth, the victim complained to her mother during a phone call. The victim’s mother reported the matter to police on 21 September 2020. You were arrested and interviewed on 4 March 2021. You denied the allegations made by the victim.
Victim Impact
17Victim impact statements from the victim[11] and her mother[12] were read aloud in Court.
[11]Exhibit B.
[12]Exhibit A.
18The impact of your offending upon your young victim has been profound. She feels traumatised and struggles with ongoing nightmares. She wakes up in a state of panic at the sound of noise. As a result of the offending, she is dealing with a range of emotions, including feeling anxious, scared, angry and sad. She has issues with trusting other men, including male teachers. She has struggled with concentrating at school and has missed classes which has impacted her academic performance.
19The victim’s mother states:
I will never pretend that the horrendous act did not have a devastating impact on my life and that of my children, because it did and cruelly continues to do so because memories of the incident still linger on sometimes…As a parent of a victim of child abuse, it feels like emotionally, you pay, and pay over and over even though you did nothing wrong to deserve this.
She continues:
However, if you want to know what it feels like to experience all this pain and trauma, well, it was deep, stressful and full of gut-wrenching loneliness that literally no one can understand because the experience is solitary.
20It is unsurprising that your despicable abuse of a child has had a significant impact upon two wholly innocent individuals.
Background
21You were born in Sierra Leone in 1997. You are now 26 years of age. You have four siblings. The family fled to Liberia to escape the war in Sierra Leone when you were two years old. From Liberia the family went to Guinea. At the time of leaving for Guinea, you were still a young child. Your father, who was estranged from the family, did not travel to Guinea. You have not seen him since leaving Liberia and were unaware whether he was still alive. However, later you came to know he was alive and had five children from a new union. He lives in Africa and you have had some contact with him via telephone.
22You have endured a traumatic childhood which has involved witnessing death and physical torture. Your paternal grandparents were killed by a militant group when you were a child. They were killed in your and your family’s presence. You have no recollection but saw some online footage of their deaths when you were in Guinea. You witnessed other traumatic events which included observing peoples’ limbs being cut.[13]
[13]Mr Hanley’s psychological report, 5 [4.1.2].
23In addition to the violence you witnessed, you were molested by a woman over a two week period when you were staying in a refugee camp in Guinea.[14]
[14]Ibid 5-6 [4.1.3].
24You and your family migrated from Guinea to Perth in 2009 as refugees.
25You attended primary school in Liberia and Guinea. Schooling in Guinea was made difficult by the political instability, the violence and the imposition of curfews. You also encountered bullying.
26You commenced Year 8 in Perth and completed Year 12. You then moved to Melbourne where you commenced and completed a four year apprenticeship in carpentry. This involved attending TAFE and working for a licenced builder. You also worked in the evenings, mowing lawns and as a shopfitter. Having completed your apprenticeship, you were employed for three years by a carpentry business. In 2022, you established your own carpentry business. You were in the process of obtaining a builders licence in 2023, but were unable to do so due to these criminal proceedings.
27You met Ms Faye when you 18 years old and got married to her the following year in September 2016. You remained together until your separation in 2020. Prior to meeting Ms Faye, you had been in a relationship in Perth which commenced when you were 15 and continued when you moved to Melbourne. It continued even after your marriage and ended sometime in 2016.
28You and Ms Faye had a daughter who was born in June 2017. As mentioned earlier, the victim came to live with you in 2019.
29You have never used any illicit substances and have only occasionally consumed alcohol.
Objective gravity and sentencing purposes
30Sexual offending against a child is unquestionably serious and abhorrent. The maximum terms of imprisonment and the fact that Parliament has chosen to legislate standard sentences in respect of the offences you fall to be sentenced for, underline the serious nature of such offending.
31In DPP v Dalgliesh,[15] the Court of Appeal stated at [43]:
Society, the legislature and the courts are at one regarding the objective seriousness of sexual offending against children, and of incest in particular. Reflecting community views, courts have condemned in the strongest terms sexual offending against children by those responsible for their welfare.
[15][2016] VSCA 148.
32The inherent seriousness of the offence of incest was expressed by Marks J in R v Sposito[16] at [4] as follows:
The offence of incest is particularly erosive of human relations and casts doubt on the assumption that parents are natural trustees of the welfare of their children. It ought to be unnecessary to recount the morbid features of incest, the most prominent of which include the exploitation by the stronger will of the adult of the weaker will of the child, the physical and psychological subordination of the child to the perverted indulgences of the adult, the gross breach of trust placed in the offender by the victim and the community, and the irreparable fundamental damage to the victim.
[16] (Unreported, Supreme Court of Victoria, Court of Criminal Appeal, 8 June 1993).
33You sexually abused an extremely young and vulnerable girl in her own home where she was entitled to feel safe. She was your step-child and only nine years of age. You were an adult, twenty two years of age. In the absence of her mother, she relied upon you to care for her. Instead of looking after her, you abused her and treated her as an object for your own perverted sexual gratification. The offending represents a significant abuse of trust by you. This was no isolated offending, but occurred on three separate days. In respect of the first incident, it continued after she had gone to the toilet. You had time to reflect and desist, but persisted. Most of the offending[17] occurred in the same bed where your two year old daughter was sleeping. There was an element of planning involved. You called the complainant into bed on the first two occasions. In respect of the last incident, you went and lay next to her in her bed. You took advantage of the absence of her mother to commit this appalling offending.
[17]All except charge 9.
34The law presumes that your young victim will suffer ongoing harm as a result of the offending. Here, your victim has spoken of the enduring pain and emotions she is experiencing. Her mother, who trusted you as a husband and a father, also talks about the turmoil as a result of your abhorrent conduct.
35In sentencing you, the condemnation of the Court and of society needs to be appropriately expressed. In addition to denouncing your conduct, general deterrence must be given prominence. You must also be deterred and justly punished. In respect of charges 3 onwards, protection of the community is the paramount consideration. While your rehabilitation remains important, the punitive aspects must remain at the forefront.
Matters in mitigation
36I have had regard to the following material tendered on your plea:
(i)Psychological report dated 10 August 2023 prepared by Mr Warren Simmons.[18]
(ii)Psychological report dated 6 December 2023 prepared by Mr Peter Hanley.[19]
(iii)A bundle of six character references.[20]
(iv)A plea chronology.[21]
(v)Outline of submissions dated 4 October 2023.[22]
(vi)Outline of further submissions dated 13 December 2023.[23]
[18]Exhibit 1.
[19]Exhibit 2.
[20]Exhibit 3.
[21]Exhibit 4.
[22]Exhibit 5.
[23]Exhibit 6.
37In addition to this material, I have taken into account the oral submissions made on your behalf by Ms McKinnon.
38You were convicted following a trial. I note that you maintain your innocence.[24] You were entitled to contest the matter. However, it means that I am not able to give you any discount that would have been attached to a plea of guilty. There is no evidence you are remorseful.[25]
[24]Mr Hanley’s psychological report, 8 [4.6].
[25]The fact you didn’t plead guilty and have not shown any remorse simply deprives you of a mitigating factor and does not aggravate the offending in any way.
Psychological Assessment
39Your counsel relied predominately upon the more recent and thorough psychological report prepared by Mr Peter Hanley dated 6 December 2023.[26] I note the following pertinent matters addressed in the report:
[26]I have also had regard to Mr Simmons report. I am told that the inconsistencies and lack of detail in Mr Simmons report are explained by Mr Asare’s reluctance to speak openly about sensitive matters, as well as a poor online video connection.
(i)You are diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (‘PTSD’). Mr Hanley opines:
Mr Asare requires treatment for PTSD which accounts for his experience of war, physical and sexual violence, loss and separation from family, economic hardship, and identity-related issues due to displacement.[27]
(ii)Your intelligence, based on your vocabulary, reasoning, and educational achievements in the context of your personal background, is estimated to fall within the average range.[28]
(iii)While your denials make the assessment of future risk difficult, Mr Hanley assesses your risk of sexual violence as falling within the moderate category.[29]
(iv)You require treatment in respect of your PTSD and would benefit[30] from specialist sex offender treatment.
(v)In terms of the impact of your PTSD on imprisonment, Mr Hanley states:
I expect that Mr Asare’s symptoms will continue to cause him distress, particularly at night and when other inmates behave in a manner that he associates with past trauma. He would be prone to bouts of anxiety, depression, suicidal behaviour, and responses that reflects his past experiences rather than his immediate situation.[31]
Mr Hanley adds:
…PTSD would exacerbate the level of distress he experiences in response to situations he cannot control or avoid in prison, including sleeping on his own or being exposed to interpersonal conflict or sexual advances. When isolated, left with his own distressing memories and ruminations, PTSD would make prison particularly difficult to tolerate. The condition would also render him prone to suicidal thoughts, behaviour, and potential outbursts of anger in the context of trauma-related triggers.[32]
[27]Ibid 10 [6.1].
[28]Ibid 9 [5.6].
[29]Ibid10-12 [7.1]. This was based on utilising The Risk for Sexual Violence Protocol-2. Mr Simmons places Mr Asare’s risk in the average risk category based on the Static-99R assessment -see [26].
[30]If he acknowledges his offending behaviour.
[31]Ibid 14 [8.2.8].
[32]Ibid page 14 [8.2.9].
40Mr Hanley also gave evidence at your plea hearing. Amongst other matters, he was questioned about the inconsistencies, primarily relating to your relationships. He confirmed that the inconsistencies did not impact his assessment. He confirmed that he was aware of Mr Simmons’ diagnosis of depression and adjustment disorder. However, as Mr Hanley had a greater understanding of your background, his opinion was that the depression and adjustment disorder was more properly encapsulated in a diagnosis of PTSD.
41You have been in custody since 2 June 2023. I accept that your time in custody has been and will continue to be burdensome. I take into account the following matters:
(i)This is your first time in custody.
(ii)I accept Mr Hanley’s opinion as set out in paragraph 39(v) of these reasons. Accordingly, I find that limbs five and six of Verdins[33] are enlivened. The symptoms of PTSD will result in a term of imprisonment weighing more heavily on you and there is a serious risk that imprisonment will have a significantly adverse impact on your mental health. To give context to Mr Hanley’s opinion, since your remand, you have been struggling with nightmares about your traumatic childhood experiences and have managed only three hours of sleep each night. You have attempted suicide and have been placed under protection. You spent five days on suicide watch in September 2023. You are currently prescribed anti-depressant medication. Mr Hanley states the medication will assist in reducing some, but not all of your PTSD symptoms.[34]
(iii)You have maintained a close relationship with your mother who continues to live in Perth. Since your remand, you have discovered that she has been diagnosed with cancer and that is making your time in custody more onerous.
[33]R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269 (‘Verdins’).
[34]Mr Hanley’s psychological report, 15 [8.2.11].
42Having regard to the combined effect of the above factors, your time in custody will be onerous.
43I accept, despite your achievements, you have endured a traumatic and disadvantaged background in war torn regions. You have witnessed violence and have endured abuse when living in a refugee camp. The trauma you have suffered has led to a diagnosis of PTSD with which you are grappling. I accept that your background allows me to somewhat moderate, in a general sense, your moral culpability in accordance with the Bugmy[35] principles.
[35]R v Bugmy (2013) 249 CLR 571..
44You are now 26 years old. At the time of the offending you were a youthful offender, aged 22. You have no prior convictions. The offending occurred between April 2019 and January 2020. You have not been in any further trouble and there are no pending matters. You have continued working.
45At a young age you have done extremely well in completing your education up to Year 12, followed by an apprenticeship. You have already demonstrated that you a hard working individual. The education and strong work ethic you have displayed is impressive, bearing in mind the difficult background that you have endured. I have had regard to the character evidence given during the trial and in the six references tendered on the plea.[36] There are clearly people in the community who speak highly of you and value your assistance.
[36]Exhibit 3.
46While your good character is important, as your counsel recognised, I must give greater emphasis in this case to the principles of general deterrence and denunciation. Your rehabilitation in circumstances where you were youthful when the offending occurred and have not been in any trouble before or since remains important. I regard your prospects of rehabilitation as quite good, but they would be enhanced if you are able to accept your wrongdoing and develop greater insight. Although rehabilitation remains important, sexual abuse of a young child requires greater weight to be given to the punitive aspects of sentencing.
47I have had regard to the chronology tendered by your counsel. The offending was reported to the police on 21 September 2020. You were interviewed on 4 March 2021. However, charges were not filed until 15 November 2021. Due to the pandemic, your trial did not commence until 22 May 2023. Following your conviction, the matter was adjourned for a plea hearing on 24 August 2023. A day before the hearing, your then lawyers, having filed no plea material requested an adjournment. That adjournment was granted administratively and a new plea date, of 5 October 2023, was confirmed. On this date, your new lawyers indicated they were not ready to proceed and requested an adjournment for a further psychological assessment to be conducted. The plea was adjourned to 15 December 2023 when it was heard. You are not responsible for the delay. During the course of the two year period between your police interview and remand following the verdicts, you have not re-offended and continued working, which involved establishing your own business. Despite moving on with your life, I accept that the delay would have been an anxious experience for you.[37]
[37]Delay to trial and sentence following the trial.
Standard Sentence
48Sentencing requires taking into account many different matters. The standard sentence is one such factor and no more. The sentence specified as the standard sentence is, ‘the sentence for an offence that, taking into account only the objective factors affecting the relative seriousness of that offence is in the middle of the range of seriousness’.[38]
[38]Sentencing Act 1991, s 5A(b).
49The standard sentencing regime does not interfere with the instinctive synthesis approach the Court must carry out which involves distilling all relevant factors to arrive at the appropriate sentence.
50The Court must only have regard to sentences imposed in cases where the standard sentence regime applied. Current sentencing practices are not determinative; they are no more or less important than any of the other factors which the Court is required to consider. Each case ultimately turns on its own particular facts and circumstances.
51The sentence on all the charges will be lower than the standard sentence having taken into account the objective gravity of the offending as articulated earlier in these reasons and your personal circumstances giving rise to mitigation.
Serious Sexual Offender Provisions
52Pursuant to s6B of the Sentencing Act 1991, upon conviction and being sentenced to a term of imprisonment on Charges 1 and 2, you fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender on Charges 3 to 9 on the indictment. Pursuant to s6D of that Act, in determining the length of any sentence on Charges 3 to 9, I must regard community protection as the principal purpose for which the sentence is imposed. It has not been suggested, and nor do I consider it appropriate in this case, that a disproportionate sentence is necessary to achieve the protection of the community.
53Pursuant to s6E of the Sentencing Act, there is a presumption of accumulation with regards to sentencing for serious sexual offender offences. However, I must bear in mind the overarching principle of totality and the need to avoid a crushing sentence. I must ensure that the totality principal is applied in a manner that does not undermine the legislative policy inherent in s6E of the Sentencing Act.[39]
[39]Gordon v R [2013] VSCA 343 at [74].
Sentencing
54It is clear that a term of imprisonment involving a head sentence and a non-parole period is inevitable. Your counsel submitted that the Court should consider imposing a shorter non-parole period in light of the matters in mitigation and to allow you the opportunity of obtaining treatment for PTSD in the community as soon as possible. It was submitted that the non-parole period should be shorter than that prescribed for standard sentencing offences.[40]
[40]In this case, at least 60% of the head sentence – Sentencing Act 1991 s 11A(4)(c).
55Having taken into account all relevant circumstances and factors, Mr Asare, you are sentenced as follows:
· On Charge 1, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 2, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 3, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 4, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 5, sexual penetration of a step-child, you are convicted and sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 6, sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 7, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 8, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
· On Charge 9, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
56The sentence on Charge 5 will be the base sentence. I direct that five months of the sentence on Charge 1, four months of the sentence on Charge 2, two months of the sentence on Charge 3, four months of the sentence on Charge 4, four months of the sentence on Charge 6, five months of the sentence on Charge 7, five months of the sentence on Charge 8 and seven months of the sentence on Charge 9, be served cumulatively upon each other and on the base sentence on Charge 5. This makes a total effective sentence of 9 years’ imprisonment.
57Pursuant to s11A(4)(c) of the Sentencing Act, I must fix a non-parole period of at least 60 per cent of a head sentence unless I consider that it is in the interests of justice not to do so. Despite your counsel’s submission, it is important that I impose a non-parole period that does not undermine the punitive purposes of sentencing, including deterrence,[41] just punishment and denunciation. Bearing in mind the nature of the offending, I do not consider it to be in the interest of justice to impose a non-parole period that is less than that prescribed.
[41]Both general and specific.
58I direct that you serve a non-parole period of 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.
Serious Sexual Offender
59In relation to Charges 3 through to 9, pursuant to s6F(1) of the Sentencing Act, you are sentenced as a serious sexual offender and I order that this fact be entered into the records of the Court.
Pre-sentence Detention
60Pursuant to s 18 of the Sentencing Act, the period of 294 days of pre-sentence detention, not including today’s date, is hereby declared as having already been served in respect of this sentence, and I order that such declaration and its details be entered in the Court’s records.
Sex Offender Registration
61Pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004, registration is mandatory in relation to these offences and the reporting period is life. Upon your release from prison, you must report your personal details to Victoria Police and continue to comply with the reporting obligations. You will be sent an acknowledgement form for signing in due course and will be provided with a document setting out your reporting obligations upon your release and the consequences of any breach. It is an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with your reporting obligations.
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