Director of Public Prosecutions v Hill (a pseudonym)
[2024] VCC 1053
•1 August 2024
Ex
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LEONARD HILL (a pseudonym) |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE DAVIS | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 2 July 2024 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 1 August 2024 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Hill (a pseudonym) | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 1053 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Plea to two charges of indecent act with a child under the age of 16 (against sister X) – after trial, found guilty of two charges of incest, one charge of sexual penetration of a sibling and one charge of sexual assault (all against sister Y) – not guilty of first two charges on trial indictment (incest against sister Y)
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic); Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic); Sex Offender Registration Act 2004 (Vic)
Cases Cited:R v Bowland [2007] VSCA 242; DPP v Dalgliesh (a pseudonym) [2017] HCA 41
Sentence: 5 years 2 months, non-parole period of 3 years 8 months
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr R Pirrie | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr M Page | Ben Von Einem & Associates |
HER HONOUR:
1Leonard Hill,[1] on 8 April 2024, you pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent act with a child under the age of 16, on indictment number N12084768.B (“the plea indictment”). The victim of these charges was your sister X.[2] This offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. In addition, under the Sex Offender Registration Act 2004 (“SORA”), the offence is a Class 2 offence. I note that you had indicated on 15 August 2023 (at the committal) that you intended to plead guilty to these charges.
[1] A pseudonym.
[2] A pseudonym.
2Your plea on 8 April 2024 was made before the commencement of the trial on Indictment number N12084768.A (“the trial indictment”) which related to offences allegedly committed against another of your sisters, Y.[3]
[3] A pseudonym.
3On 24 April 2024, after a 10 day trial in relation to alleged offences committed by you against Y, a jury found you guilty on charges 3 (incest), 4 (incest), 5 (sexual penetration of a sibling) and 6 (sexual assault) on the trial indictment. The victim of those offences was your sister, Y, who was three years younger than X. By its verdict, the jury must be taken to have been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of each of the elements comprising each of those offences. The offences of incest and sexual penetration of a sibling each carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, under the SORA, the offence of incest is a Class 1 offence. The offence of sexual assault carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
4You were found not guilty on the remaining charges 1 and 2 on the trial indictment and you are entitled to the full benefit of the acquittal on those charges.
5The details of your offending against X were set out in the agreed Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea[4] and Addendum to Summary of Prosecution Opening.[5] The details of your offending against Y were set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening for trial and the Addendum referred to above. I sentence you on the basis of the facts contained in those materials, the written submissions made by counsel and oral submissions made at the plea hearing. I summarise the offending briefly.
[4] Exhibit 1, dated 21 March 2024.
[5] Exhibit 3, dated 28 June 2024.
Victim X
Circumstances of Offending
6At the time of offending, between early 2004 and late 2006, you were between 14 and 17 years old. X was between 9 and 12 years old.
7At the start of 2004, X lived with you, your parents and your other siblings. She shared a bedroom in the middle of the house with her two younger sisters. Your parent’s bedroom was located at the front of the house and your bedroom was at the back of the house.
8You would wait until your parents were asleep and then invite X into your bedroom. At other times, you would pre-arrange for X to come into your bedroom.
9Whilst in the bedroom, you and X laid underneath the covers. You touched and rubbed her vagina both over and underneath her underwear. You also got her to rub your penis. This occurred approximately four times and forms part of the subject of plea indictment charge 1 (indecent act with a child under the age of 16, course of conduct charge).
10You eventually moved into another bedroom, which was separate from the house and attached to the shed, referred to as ‘the bungalow’. You had a bed, a desk with Pokémon cards on it, and a TV unit with a TV and DVD player. The room also had blinds and a door lock.
11You invited X into the bungalow during the day and at night. You would watch television together for around 5-10 minutes before you would pull the roller blinds down and get into bed with her. You would then rub her on the vagina underneath her clothing and get her to rub your penis. This forms part of the subject of plea indictment charge 1 (indecent act with a child under the age of 16, course of conduct charge).
12On one occasion, she was laying under the covers with you. You touched her over her clothing and then proceeded to touch her vagina when she was naked. You asked her to kiss you, to which she replied ‘No’. You then made her rub your penis. This forms part of the subject of plea indictment charge 2 (indecent act with a child under the age of 16, rolled-up charge).
13There was a garage attached to the bungalow where your father would go to drink and smoke. On one occasion, you were in the bungalow and you were touching and rubbing X’s vagina and she was touching and rubbing your penis. Your father knocked on the bungalow door. You told X to quickly get dressed which she did. You pulled up your pants and unlocked the door. This forms part of the subject of plea indictment charge 2 (indecent act with a child under the age of 16, rolled up charge).
14You warned X that if she told your parents about what you were doing, you would tell them that she was swearing, which was prohibited in your house. Sometimes, after the offending, you told her she could take something out of the bungalow to play with as long as she didn’t tell your parents about the offending.
Complaint
15When X was around 10 years old, she told your mother that you made her touch your penis. Your mother confronted you about this allegation at the time and told you to stop it. You denied the conduct.
16In around 2019, X went to her sister Y’s unit, and disclosed your abuse to her. Y told X that you had sexually abused Y as well.
17In around 2021, X spoke to your ex-wife over the phone and told her that you had sexually abused her.
18In January 2022, X told your mother that you had interfered with her.
19X disclosed the offending to Victoria Police on 24 September 2021 and signed her statement on 9 November 2021. The charges against you were filed on 27 September 2022.
Record of Interview
20You participated in a Record of Interview on 31 December 2021 and you admitted that you had a number of times instigated sexual touching between yourself and X. You said this stopped when you were around 12 years old.
21X did not provide a Victim Impact Statement.
Victim Y
Circumstances of Offending[6]
[6] In these reasons for sentence, the references to “offending against Y” concern only the charges of which you were found guilty by the jury.
22Between December 2006 and 2008, you were around 17 to 19 years old. The victim, Y, was between 9 and 10 years old.
23On one occasion during this period, you and Y were taken by your mother to the supermarket in the family car, a blue Tarago van. Your mother parked in the carpark, and left you and Y in the car. It was a warm day. You covered the windows with sunshades and clothes. You then pulled Y to the floor of the car, pulled her pants part-way down and introduced your penis into her vagina without a condom. She tried to get up but you hit her on the side of the face. This is the subject of charge 3 on the trial indictment.
24When you saw your mother returning, you pulled the sunshades and clothes off the windows. Your mother asked why there was a smell in the car. Y was red and sweaty and said that you made the smell and you made her sweaty. Your mother told Y to wind the windows down.
25Between December 2010 and 2011, you were between 21 and 22 years old and Y was 13 years old. On one occasion during this period, Y was in the bungalow with you. She was face down on your bed, naked and unable to move as you held her down by the neck and shoulders. You then penetrated her vagina with your penis without wearing a condom until you ejaculated. This is the subject of charge 4 on the trial indictment.
26Between December 2017 and 2018, Y was 20 years old and was living at home with your parents and two younger siblings. Y was using the bungalow as her bedroom. You were between 28 and 29 years old and living elsewhere with your then partner and three children.
27On one occasion, you came over with your then partner and three children to visit. You went into the bungalow to see Y and locked the door. You laid in the bed and had an erection beneath your clothing. You told Y that you had heard that she had got her nipples pierced and asked her to show you. You asked her to lay down next to you, smirked and touched and sucked both of her breasts. You then pulled your penis out and penetrated her vagina without wearing a condom. This is the subject of charge 5 on the trial indictment.
28In December 2018, Y was between 20 and 21 years old and you were 29 years old. Y attended an end-of-year work party at a hotel. You were also at the bar with some friends. She was wearing a dress. She went to the bar to get last drinks and whilst there, you grabbed her buttocks over her clothing and stuck your fingers under her dress between the cheeks of her buttocks. This conduct is the subject of charge 6 on the trial indictment.
Complaint
29Y said that as a child, not long after your offending, she told your mother that she had a ‘sore fanny’.
30In around 2019, X came to visit Y at her house, and they disclosed to each other that they were sexually abused by you.
31Sometime in 2021, Y told her then partner that she had been sexually abused, but did not reveal by whom.
32In August 2021, Y took out an intervention order against you. Your ex-wife then exchanged text messages with Y on 26 August 2021, during which Y confirmed your sexual offending against her.[7]
[7] Exhibit 1 (Trial).
33On 27 August 2021, your ex-wife contacted the police, who then contacted Y. Y disclosed the sexual offending by you to police in a telephone conversation with the informant sometime between 27 and 29 August 2021. Y then provided a statement to police which was signed on 28 December 2021.
Arrest and Record of Interview
34You were arrested and interviewed on 31 December 2021.
35In your Record of Interview, you admitted that you instigated sexual touching with X and Y on numerous occasions, but said that this stopped when you were around 12 years old. You denied penetrative offending in relation to Y.
36You were taken into custody after the plea on 2 July 2024. You have spent a total of 30 days in pre-sentence detention, not including today.
Victim Impact Statement
37Y read out her Victim Impact Statement during the plea hearing.[8] Y said that you have taken not only her innocence but also spoilt her childhood and adulthood. The choices you have made for your own enjoyment have left her utterly broken, confused and traumatised, requiring psychiatric treatment from an early age. Over the years, she stated that she has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. She has self-harmed, has nightmares, and has panic attacks when she remembers the offending or when she thinks about how she believed your behaviour was a ‘normal thing siblings do’.
[8] Exhibit 2.
38She quit her job at a school due to personal stress and has had to cancel shifts due to lack of sleep and anxiety. She is also limited in her ability to pick up additional shifts due to appointments and group therapy. She stated that she has had trouble maintaining friendships due to a lack of trust, anxiety and unhealthy trauma responses. She struggles with sexual contact, communication and recognising a healthy relationship as distinct from an unhealthy one. She also said that your offending has had a ‘ripple effect’ on your whole family, and has badly affected her relationships with her other siblings.
Personal Circumstances
39Your personal circumstances were outlined in the psychological report of Mr Simon Candlish dated 16 June 2024.[9]
[9] Exhibit B.
40You were born in 1989 and are currently 34 years old. You are the eldest of five younger siblings and your parents remained together until approximately four years ago. Your father was a car detailer who worked long hours and when returning home from work, would spend hours in the garage, drinking alcohol and listening to music. Your mother was a stay-at-home mum. Your parents were not very affectionate.
41You attended two primary schools in different neighbourhoods. You had no problems at school, made good friends and played football from a young age. In secondary school, you were involved in several fights during football games but were never suspended or expelled from school. You were not interested in finishing school and left after Year 10 to undertake an apprenticeship in cabinet making, which you completed. You have worked since then as a cabinet maker and have been with your current employer for 13 years.
42You first started dating your ex-wife when you were 15 years old and she was 17 years old. You saw her parents as parental figures and spent a significant amount of time at her home. You married her when you were 20 years old. You have two children. The marriage ended acrimoniously and she and your children moved to a different part of the State. When you were 25 years old, you met your current partner and you have two young children with her.
43In relation to your psychosexual history, you first became aware of sex at the age of 6 or 7 when you walked in on your parents having sexual intercourse. You asked your mother what they were doing and she told you. You parents were open about discussing sex and you recall in your childhood your mother squeezing her breast milk at you, your siblings and your friend in jest.
44You were approximately 12 years old when you started masturbating. In year 7 at school, you started accessing pornographic DVDs and would masturbate regularly. You denied ever accessing child abuse material. Your first sexual activity with a female peer occurred in year 7 or year 8 although it involved touching inside the pants as opposed to any form of penetration.
45You told Mr Candlish that your first sexual contact with X was when you were a child, but you could not recall how old you were. You said you acted this way out of curiosity. You admitted being aware that your behaviour was “being naughty”[10] but said it was “never malicious”.[11] The behaviour involved you touching X’s vagina and her touching your penis. You did not go further because it was “easier”[12] to engage in touching and not be detected. You recall X telling your mother about you touching her vagina and your mother scolded you. He noted that your mother’s witness statement was to the effect that she “ripped shit through”[13] you when X told her that you had been sexually touching her, and she also told your father about it. She also stated that she told you on several occasions not to engage in any further sexual acts with X.
[10] Simon Candlish, Psychological Court Report, 16 June 2024, 6 [47].
[11] Ibid 6 [47].
[12] Ibid 6 [49].
[13] Ibid 3 [16].
46You told Mr Candlish that any sexual activity initiated with X ended when you were 17 and began your relationship with your ex-wife. You denied any penetrative acts against Y, and denied any sexual acts towards her after you turned 15.[14] You felt that you had a good relationship with Y as young adults. You expressed awareness that the offending against X and Y was wrong, but said that “when you are young, you don’t have the knowledge”.[15] You were upset to know the impact that your conduct has had on them.
[14] Ibid 6 [51].
[15] Ibid 7 [53].
47You told Mr Candlish that you were a social drinker but also took MDMA or cocaine occasionally whilst with friends.
48Before being charged with the offences against X and Y, you had no history of self-harm or suicide and had never been prescribed anti-depressants and felt you were a happy man and a larrikin. You were captain of the local football team and enjoyed the attention you received.
49You reported to Mr Candlish that since your arrest, you have experienced symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression as well as paranoia. This was consistent with his findings on psychometric testing. You have had trouble sleeping, and have become more introverted. However, Mr Candlish did not diagnose any major or persistent depressive or any anxiety related disorder.
50Mr Candlish assessed your risk of sexual offending. The nature of the risk considered was of attempting to sexually touch Y or attempting to engage in sexually penetrative activity with her. He considered that there are no signs of imminent risk of this kind of offending. He considered that you fall into the low-risk category for sexual offending in the future and have a high level of protective factors (including: stable personality, employment, relationships and good social networks).
51When assessing the reasons for your offending, Mr Candlish suggested that your father was emotionally unavailable, and that, once aware of your interest in sexual activity, your parents provided little guidance or ongoing monitoring of your activities. He considered that your sexual acts towards X and Y prematurely sexualised them and would have caused them considerable confusion. This may have led you to justify your sexually harmful behaviours and minimise any lasting harmful impacts.[16] He noted that your offending against Y when she was 20 and 21 years old might have been due to your “ongoing cognitive distortions”[17] that your behaviour was not harmful and was accepted or enjoyed by her, or that you were sexually entitled to behave in this way. Mr Candlish noted that you do not appear to have any ongoing deviant arousal to children, and that you have maintained sexually satisfying relationships with adult partners, along with stable employment, lifestyle and sporting interests.
[16] Ibid 12 [91].
[17] Ibid 12 [92].
Prosecution Submissions
52The prosecution submitted that your offending is objectively serious and that there were a number of aggravating features of it. First, there was a considerable age difference between yourself and X (five years) and Y (eight years). Second, you held a trusted role as the oldest child and eldest son in the family. Third, the duration of the offending was altogether over a 14 year period (two years in relation to X, and 10-12 years in relation to Y). Fourth, that even after being admonished by your mother in relation to your conduct with X, you did not stop offending but instead began to offend against Y, in a more serious manner and for a longer period. Fifth, that you did not wear a condom when penetrating Y, thereby subjecting her when you ejaculated to the risk of pregnancy and/or disease. Sixth, that your conduct in charges 3 and 4 of the trial indictment involved an element of coercion.
53Finally, the prosecution submitted that whilst you showed remorse for your actions against X, you made very limited admissions in your Record of Interview in relation to the conduct against Y and denied committing any penetrative acts against her.
54For these reasons, the prosecution submitted that the appropriate disposition is one of a term of imprisonment involving a head sentence and a non-parole period.
Defence Submissions
55Your counsel accepted the summary of offending with respect to X. Despite the jury verdict, your counsel maintained your instructions that you did not engage in any penetrative sexual acts against Y. Nevertheless, your counsel conceded that overall your offending is serious offending which will inevitably attract the imposition of an immediate term of imprisonment and a non-parole period.
56Your counsel agreed that the conduct involving sexual penetration (charges 3, 4 and 5 on the trial indictment), is more serious than the sexual assault charge (charge 6 on the trial indictment), despite the disparity between maximum sentences for these offences. Your counsel conceded that the most serious offending is the offending the subject of charges 3 and 4 on the trial indictment, as your conduct involved an element of coercion. Your counsel rejected the suggestion that you were in a privileged position in the family as the eldest child and eldest son.
57In providing an explanation for your offending, your counsel relied on the report of Mr Candlish (which is referred to above at paragraphs 39-51).
58Your counsel relied on Mr Candlish’s assessment that you see yourself as a valued member of family, friendship and community groups, that you have maintained a consistently stable life and do not suffer from any mental health or substance issues. Your counsel emphasised Mr Candlish’s conclusion that your risk of reoffending is low.[18]
[18] Ibid 10–11.
59In mitigation, your counsel raised a number of matters. First, you pleaded guilty to the offending against X at the earliest opportunity. Whilst X still had to give evidence at trial in relation to the first two charges on the trial indictment, she did not have to experience the trauma of being cross-examined about the matters she alleged you committed against her. For this reason, it was submitted that you should be entitled to the full benefit of an early plea for these charges.
60Second, your plea of guilty and the admissions made should also be seen as an indication of remorse in relation to the offending committed against X and, to a lesser extent, against Y. Your counsel noted that you have expressed fulsome remorse about your conduct in relation to X, in your record of interview, in your apologies to your family and to X once the offending came to light. Your counsel conceded that there has been no remorse in relation to the offending that the jury found you committed against Y.
61Third, there has been a considerable delay in this matter, with the most recent offending taking place some six years before the plea date. This matter has been hanging over both you and your family for a significant period of time. You have two young children and your family will be badly affected financially and emotionally by your being in custody.
62Fourth, you are 34 years old with no prior convictions and your good character speaks to your positive prospects of rehabilitation.
63In addition, you have strong support from your family, your employer and your friends. You were supported in court at the plea hearing by X, three other siblings, your parents and some friends.
64Twelve character references were submitted on your behalf. One of these references was from X who stated that she has accepted your expressions of remorse and has forgiven you; that she still loves you and has an ongoing relationship with you despite your offending. The reference from your employer speaks of your strong work ethic. The reference from your football colleague praises your leadership skills. The reference from your current partner, with whom you share two young children, indicates that the family will suffer financial and emotional difficulties while you are in custody. The remaining references from your friends and other family members were to the effect that you are a kind and respectable man of high moral character who is deeply ashamed of his actions.
65It was submitted that your good character, low risk of reoffending, and pro-social life reduces the need to address specific deterrence as a primary sentencing principle. Rather, general deterrence and denunciation ought to be the major sentencing considerations.
66Finally, your counsel submitted that while the head sentence should reflect the seriousness of the offending, the non-parole period imposed should be lower than usual.
Analysis
67I consider that your offending against X, who was five years younger than you, and between 9 and 12 years old at the time of your offending, is a serious example of a serious offence. You pleaded guilty to two charges of this offending: charge 1 is a course of conduct offence involving four occasions of sexual touching; while charge 2 is a rolled up charge involving two incidents. Those incidents occurred over a two year period, and appear to have continued even after you were admonished by your mother when X complained to her when she was 10 years old.
68I accept that you were a teenager at the time of the offending against X. These matters were prosecuted many years after the event. You are entitled to the full benefit of your plea of guilty to that offending. Although you fall to be sentenced as an adult, on the authorities,[19] you are entitled to be sentenced on the basis that you offended against X when you were between 14 and 17 years old. As such, there would be good reason to mitigate any penalty on the basis of your youth, a significant degree of rehabilitation and the absence of further offending since then. However, as you have offended further, by offending against Y as found by the jury, there can only be modest moderation in moral culpability flowing from your young age at the time of the offending against X.
[19]R v Boland [2007] VSCA 242.
69The offending against Y which is the subject of the jury’s guilty verdicts on charges 3, 4 and 5, is objectively much more serious than the offending against X, for a number of reasons.
70First, of course, the conduct in charges 3, 4 and 5 involve sexual penetration, without a condom. There was an element of coercion involved in the conduct the subject of charges 3 and 4. There was ejaculation involved in the conduct the subject of charge 4.
71Second, there was a greater disparity in age between you and Y than between you and X.
72Third, the nature of your offending against Y represents an escalation in the type of sexual offending as well as offending against a second victim, another of your sisters, which began when she was around the same age as X.
73Fourth, the offending lasted between 10 and 12 years, from when you were 17 years old to when you were 28 years old. By the age of 15, you had already been admonished by your mother for the sexual offending against X. By the age of 15, you were in a relationship with your ex-wife and you married when you were 20 years of age and she was around 22 and pregnant with your first child. You last offended against Y when you were 29 years old and the father of three young children. Your offending has robbed Y, from a young age, in her adolescence, and into her adulthood, of her physical integrity and sense of safety in her parents’ home.
74Fifth, you have shown no remorse for the offending against Y, nor acknowledged the serious impact it has had on her.
75Finally, the impact of your offending on Y has been devastating, as outlined in her Victim Impact Statement.[20] She has been self-harming since the age of 13, has required ongoing psychiatric treatment for a number of conditions, suffers nightmares, insomnia, anxiety and panic attacks, struggles to maintain attendance at work, has difficulties engaging in relationships and sexual contact, and has been isolated from the family.
[20] See paragraphs 37-38 above.
76Your bear very high moral culpability for your offending against Y. I accept, however, that the offending the subject of charge 6 is the least serious of the offences you committed against her.
77On the authorities, your offending requires that the principles of denunciation, just punishment, general and specific deterrence, and protection of young persons be at the forefront of the sentencing process. The long-term harm done to your victim must be given appropriate weight.[21] In addition, I must have regard to the maximum penalties for the offending, to the serious sexual offender provisions (where enlivened), to current sentencing practice, and to the principles of totality and parsimony.
[21]DPP v Dalgliesh (a pseudonym) [2017] HCA 41.
78I accept the matters put in mitigation on your behalf. You have no prior convictions. Your plea in relation to the offending against X was made at an early stage, has utilitarian value in sparing X from giving evidence about these matters at trial; and you have expressed deep remorse for your offending against her in your record of interview, discussion with Mr Candlish, and in discussions with X and with your family. X has forgiven you and provided a reference in support of you, and this is evidence that the harm done to her has not been overwhelming. Apart from the offending against X and the subsequent offending against Y, you have demonstrated that you are a valued family member, brother, employee and football player. You have not offended further since 2018. In addition, I accept that there has been some delay in finalisation of this matter. I accept the opinion of Mr Candlish that you are at low risk of sexual reoffending, and that you have protective factors in terms of stable family life, stable employment, and no mental health or substance abuse issues. For these reasons, I consider that you have reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.
79However, as you have shown no remorse for your offending, nor acknowledged the harm that offending has caused Y, I consider that specific deterrence remains a relevant consideration. There was no evidence before me of any increased hardship that you will suffer in prison apart from the obvious burden that is experienced by those who have family members in prison and who have offended in a similar way.
80I note that if you are sentenced to imprisonment on two of the charges before me, you fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender on each charge thereafter.[22] As you are to be sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment on charges 1 and 2 of the plea indictment, as well as to a term of imprisonment on charge 3 of the trial indictment, you fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender on charges 4, 5 and 6 of the trial indictment. This means that, in determining the length of your sentence, I must regard protection of the community to be the principal purpose for which the sentence is imposed.[23] In doing so, I may impose a sentence longer than that which is proportionate to the gravity of the offending. It was not submitted by the prosecution that I should do so, and I therefore decline to do so. In addition, unless I direct otherwise, each of the sentences imposed upon you as a serious sexual offender is to be served cumulatively upon the other sentences imposed upon you. Again, I note that the prosecution did not submit that there should be full cumulation of the sentences imposed upon you as a serious sexual offender. In order to satisfy the principles of totality and parsimony, I direct otherwise and have moderated the orders for cumulation as outlined below.
[22]Sentencing Act1991 s 6B(2).
[23] Ibid s 6D(a).
81Further, pursuant to section 6F(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991, it must be entered in the records of the court that you have been sentenced as a serious sexual offender in respect of charges 4, 5 and 6.
82Finally, I note that the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act2004 (“the SORA”) apply to this proceeding. Your conviction on charges 3 and 4 of the trial indictment indicates that they are to be treated as Class 1 offences. This means that you will be required to be subject to reporting conditions under SORA for the rest of your life.[24]
[24] See section 34(c) of Sex Offenders Registration Act2004.
Sentence
83In all the circumstances, I sentence you as follows:
84Please stand.
85On charges 1 and 2 on the plea indictment, you are sentenced to an aggregate term of 6 months imprisonment.
86On charge 3 of the trial indictment, incest, you are sentenced to 2 years and 9 months imprisonment.
87On charge 4 of the trial indictment, incest, you are sentenced, as a serious sexual offender, to 2 years and 9 months imprisonment. This is the base sentence.
88On charge 5 of the trial indictment, sexual penetration of a sibling, you are sentenced as a serious sexual offender, to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment.
89On charge 6 of the trial indictment, sexual assault, you are sentenced, as a serious sexual offender, to 3 months imprisonment.
90I direct that two months of the aggregate sentence imposed in relation to charges 1 and 2 of the plea indictment be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.
91I direct that 12 months of the sentence imposed on charge 3 of the trial indictment is to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.
92I direct that 14 months of the sentence imposed on charge 5 of the trial indictment is to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.
93I direct that 1 month of the sentence imposed on charge 6 of the trial indictment is to be served cumulatively upon the base sentence.
94The total effective sentence is one of 5 years and 2 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years and 8 months.
95I declare that 30 days of pre-sentence detention not including today be counted as time served, and deducted administratively from the sentence imposed on you today.
96Pursuant to section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act I declare that, but for your plea of guilty to the two charges on the plea indictment, I would have imposed an aggregate sentence of 8 months imprisonment on those charges.
97As indicated above, you are a registrable offender as defined in the SORA and must comply with the reporting obligations in that Act for life. I order that the declaration that you are a registrable offender as defined in that Act be entered into the Court’s records.
98Are there any other matters?
0