Director of Public Prosecutions v Pyle
[2024] VCC 2074
•18 December 2024
ca
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-22-01395
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| TROY JOHN PYLE |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE GEORGIOU | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 10 September 2024 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 18 December 2024 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Pyle | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 2074 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Trial – pleas of not guilty – jury verdict of guilty on all charges - sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 - sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 – child 14 years old – victim is the daughter of the accused partner – high moral culpability – low-risk of sexual reoffending – delay.
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic); Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic).
Cases Cited:Stafford v The Queen [2022] VSCA 229; Tori v The King [2024] VSCA 162; DPP v Todd [2019] VSC 585.
Sentence: Total effective sentence of six years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years' imprisonment.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr Y. Hardjadibrata | Solicitor for the Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr P. Stefanovic | Geelong Lawyers, Barristers & Solicitors |
HIS HONOUR:
1Troy John Pyle, following trial by jury, on 31 May 2024 you were found guilty of seven charges of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 (Charges 1-7), and one charge of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 (Charge 8).
Circumstances of offending
2I will refer to the victim of each charge only as AB, so as to protect her identity. AB was 14 years of age at all relevant times and in Year 9 of secondary college.
3In May 2018, you commenced a relationship with AB’s mother, whom I shall refer to as CD. You would often stay over at their premises. Living at that house was the victim, her four siblings, and their mother. Your relationship with the victim’s mother continued until approximately June 2019.
4Your offending against AB commenced in mid-February 2019 and continued over a number of months. There was an issue between your counsel and the learned prosecutor as to when the final charged act occurred, it being the subject of Charge 8, the sexual penetration charge. I will sentence on the basis that the final act occurred before you and CD separated in about June 2019.
5You were 39 years of age at the time you offended against the victim.
6Charge 1 relates to an incident that occurred between 14 February and 14 March 2019, when you stayed over at the victim’s house. You and everyone else had gone to bed. At approximately midnight, you sent AB a Snapchat message telling her to meet you in the lounge room for a 'special hug'. AB came out of her bedroom and saw you standing in the hallway near her bedroom, wearing only your underwear. You asked her for a hug and while hugging her, you used your left hand to rub her back and buttocks before letting her go.
7On another occasion, between 1 March 2019 and 30 April 2019, AB got out of bed at around midnight to get some water. She saw you standing in the hallway, and you again asked her for a hug. AB gave you a hug and as she was about to return to her bedroom, you pulled her towards you and kissed her. She described it as a 'long kiss' with you using your tongue. You held her face under her jaw so that she could not pull away. This act of kissing forms the basis of Charge 2. After kissing AB for some 30 seconds, you said 'good night sweetheart, have a good sleep'.
8Charge 3 occurred between 1 April 2019 and 31 May 2019. You were again staying at AB’s house. During the night, while AB was asleep in her bed, she was woken by you telling her to 'move over'. You were dressed only in your underwear. You got into her bed and began touching AB under her clothing, on her buttocks, back and stomach. You did not say anything to her. She lay in her bed in a state of shock. You continued touching her for about 10 minutes before you got up and left the room. As you left the room, you said 'good night, love you'.
9Charge 4 occurred between 1 June 2019 and 30 June 2019. You were again staying at AB’s house. You entered her bedroom while she was asleep, pulled back the doona and got into her bed. While in her bed, you began touching AB’s back and buttocks, under her T-shirt and underwear.
10In about June 2019, AB was watching a movie in the lounge room. You entered the lounge room and said to her 'come give me a kiss goodnight'. AB approached you thinking you meant a kiss on her cheek. Instead, you kissed her on the lips using your tongue. This forms the basis of Charge 5. AB thought the kiss lasted some 30 seconds.
11Charge 6 relates to an incident said to have occurred in approximately June 2019. It occurred after you, AB, and her family had gone out for dinner to celebrate the birthday of AB’s brother. Following the dinner, at around midnight, you entered AB’s bedroom and got into her bed. You rubbed her hips with your hand, both above and beneath her underwear. You remained in her bed for between 20 and 30 minutes before you got up and left her room.
12Approximately one week later, you were again staying over at the AB’s house. At some point during the night, AB got up to got to the toilet. She saw you standing in the hallway. You told her you were just going to say goodnight and then kissed her, again using your tongue. You held onto AB, kissing her while also touching her buttocks. Charge 7 is based on you kissing AB.
13
Charge 8 is based on an incident where you were once again staying over at AB’s house. At approximately midnight, you went to AB’s bedroom and woke her. You got into bed with her and began kissing her on the lips. You then touched her under her T-shirt on her back, breast area, hips, buttocks and inner thigh. You then pulled AB’s underwear down and inserted your finger into her vagina, moving it in and out for some 15 to 20 seconds. The penetration of AB’s vagina with your finger is the basis of this charge. You lay in bed with AB for approximately
30 minutes before saying 'I love you baby girl' and then leaving her room.
14Later that morning, AB disclosed to her mother that you had gone into her room on a couple of occasions and got into bed with her, and that this made her uncomfortable. CD telephoned you and confronted you with AB’s accusation. You told CD that you were just giving AB cuddles because you knew she was missing her father. You said you would not do it again.
15On 31 December 2019, AB disclosed to her friend that you would enter her bed when she was sleeping. About 12 months after that, AB told that same friend that you would touch her 'just everywhere', and that you would 'caress her just down there and, like, on her arse'. AB also complained that you would 'spoon' her and grab her breasts.
16On 3 May 2021, CD found AB curled up in a foetal position on the floor beside her bed crying hysterically. When asked what was going on, AB stated 'Troy fucking fingered me. He’s a fucking asshole'.
17On 4 May 2021, AB told her sister some of what you had been doing. AB told her sister that she would wake up some nights to find you in her bed wearing only your underwear. She also said she was 'really uncomfortable' with you, and that you had started sleeping with her 'and stuff'.
18On 19 May 2021, CD attended the Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team office and took part in a telephone 'pretext' call with you. The allegations of sexual assault were put to you. You did not make any admissions with respect to the offending. However, you said you had been in AB’s bedroom at night on two occasions. You denied any wrongdoing.
19On 19 August 2021, you were arrested and taken to the Corio police station. You were interviewed by police. You did not admit to sexually assaulting AB or to penetrating her vagina with your finger. You told police that you loved and cared for CD’s children as if they were your own, and that you would never hurt AB.
20As stated, following the trial, the jury found you guilty of each of the charges.
21At the plea hearing, victim impact statements prepared by AB, her mother, and AB’s younger sister, were tendered. I will summarise those statements.
22AB states that since your offending she has become more reclusive and prefers to stay at home. This contrasts with her life before the offending occurred. As a young girl, she states that she was confused, scared and shocked by what you did. She questions whether she did anything to deserve it. AB states that the offending occurred in her own home, the one place that should have been her safe space. The fact that she had to tell her mother that her boyfriend offended against her, sickened her.
23As a result of your conduct, AB changed bedrooms as she could not cope being in the same room where some of the offending occurred.
24AB states that for the last four years, she has been on antidepressants and has been having weekly to fortnightly counselling sessions to help her cope with everyday life. AB is a young mother now, and states she is preoccupied with thoughts concerning the need to protect her child and keep her safe. She finds that feeling overwhelming. AB states she is 'extremely over-protective' of her daughter.
25CD states that when her daughter told her what had been happening, her instant feeling was one of failure as a mother, and failure to protect her children. The pain she felt for her daughter was beyond anything she had ever felt. She was angry that someone she thought she could trust had destroyed their safe and happy space.
26CD states she had to renovate their house because AB could no longer stay in her bedroom. This involved considerable time and money to achieve. CD has lost the passion and zest she used to have and has lost her trust, to the point that her home is no longer open to friends as she no longer wishes to be vulnerable. She also has trouble sleeping and eating. CD states that doubts fill her ability as a mother to make confident decisions. Her anxieties and feelings of powerlessness to protect her children became so strong that she has undertaken counselling. CD concluded her statement by saying 'I will never in my life be free of the guilt and misplaced sense of responsibility for the pain this has caused my daughter and my family'.
27AB’s younger sister states that when she first learned of your offending, she felt so confused and angry that someone who tricked her into trusting him could do something like what you did. She still remembers the sick feeling she had when she went to the police station to make her statement. She states she has lost her best friend, that is, her sister, as a result of what you did, and no longer feels she can talk to her sister about problems because AB has problems that are 'so much bigger' than her own. AB’s younger sister has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and takes medication.
28I have only summarised in brief what each victim so clearly articulated were the consequences of your crimes. It is clear from a reading of those impact statements that your conduct has had a deep and long-lasting effect upon each victim. This is particularly so given the trust that they each placed in you, and which you breached.
Background and personal circumstances
29I turn now to your background and personal circumstances.
30You were born in August 1979 and are now 45 years of age. You were 39 years of age at the time of the offending.
31Mr Stefanovic, who appeared on your behalf, submitted that you come from a stable family home with a positive relationship with your parents and younger sister. They attended each day of the trial to support you.
32You left school at the start of Year 10 as you were keen to enter the workforce. You report that you were very good academically, although you were required to repeat Year 8 due to your 'mucking around' and not being focused.
33On leaving school, you obtained employment in a packaging factory, and then worked at your father’s business painting fences. You have worked as a painter for some 32 years, operating your own business for the last 15 years. You employed three full-time staff.
34You have three children from two previous relationships. Your daughter, from your first long-term relationship, is now 26 years of age. Your two sons, from your second long-term relationship, are now aged 21 and 20. You report having an excellent relationship with your children.
Criminal history
35You have admitted your prior convictions. They are by no means extensive, and you do not have any convictions for offences of a sexual nature. Your prior convictions include intentionally causing injury for which you were convicted and fined in 1999; various driving offences including exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol, driving whilst disqualified, and driving in a manner dangerous for which you were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of four months, wholly suspended, in December 2003. In February 2010, for offences of contravening a family violence intervention order, using a carriage service to harass, and failing to appear, a monetary penalty was imposed.
36A psychological report prepared by Simon Candlish, dated 29 July 2024, was tendered on your behalf. Mr Candlish interviewed you on two separate occasions in July 2024.
37When interviewed, you emphatically denied the offences of which you have been found guilty.
38You told Mr Candlish that you recall your parents being in chronic conflict during your childhood. Nevertheless, you describe having had a good upbringing despite witnessing their constant arguments. You describe your mother as loving and caring and spoke of her very highly. You describe your father as 'brilliant, [would] do anything for anyone'. You stated you felt loved as a child. You also describe having a very close relationship with your sister and her two children.
39You told Mr Candlish that before being charged with these offences, you tended to drink heavily one night per week and then again on the weekend. This involved drinking between 12 to 15 beers on a weeknight and a similar amount on a Friday or Saturday night. Since being charged with these offences, and before you were remanded, your alcohol intake increased. You reported consuming a bottle of vodka as well as several beers in a session, two to three times per week. You denied any history of drug abuse.
40Mr Candlish noted that you have been in approximately five long-term relationships before your relationship with CD. The longest relationship was with the mother of your daughter, which lasted some eight years.
41Regarding the victim of this offending, you told Mr Candlish that she would often sit on your lap and cuddle you, stating she was 'just like my own daughter'. When challenged on this by Mr Candlish, that she was not related or your own daughter, you stated 'to me it was [a] normal thing'.
42You are currently in a relationship and have been with your partner for some six to eight months at the time of Mr Candlish’s report. Your partner has two daughters aged nine and ten. You told Mr Candlish that you did not consider it an issue that your partner has two young daughters, but stated that if it was required, you would cease contact with her daughters. Your partner is aware of the charges and remains supportive.
43Mr Candlish administered a number of psychometric tests. He considers you meet the criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (mild), and that you appear to be experiencing issues related to stress, anxiety and low mood. You are not considered to meet the criteria for a Major Depressive Disorder and your mood issues appear to be related to your legal predicament.
44Mr Candlish also conducted a comprehensive risk assessment and concluded that you fall in the low-risk category for sexual offending.
45In his 'case formulation', Mr Candlish considers, contrary to what you instructed your counsel, that you experienced a highly conflictual home environment and appeared chronically unsettled and at times fearful. He stated that because your schooling ended prematurely, you display a lack of psychological sophistication and show signs of a concrete style of thinking.
46Mr Candlish states that you do not have a history of sexual offending and do not appear to have a preferential entrenched sexual interest in underage female adolescents.
47Regarding your Alcohol Use Disorder, Mr Candlish considers it developed after you were charged with these offences and it is not considered likely to be permanent. It was not clear to him you suffered this disorder at the time of the offending.
Character references
48A bundle of character references was tendered on your behalf. I have had full regard to each of those references.
49Your mother, Susan, writes of your very close relationship with your father, describing the two of you as best friends. You both share an interest in cars and car restoration. You visit your parents every Thursday night and have done so for many years. Your Friday nights were spent with your father and a group of like-minded car enthusiasts.
50Your mother describes your generosity towards your employees, buying their lunches each Friday and also cooking them meals. One point of difference between you and your father, she said, was that you would paint the homes of friends and their families without charge. Your mother describes your close relationship with your younger sister and states that you are a wonderful father to your own children.
51Your sister, Carly, describes you as an extraordinary individual with a heart of gold. You have always been there for her, offering a listening ear and a helping hand. She speaks of your charitable work, including painting countless friends’ homes without charge. She cites one example where you drove past an elderly male who was struggling to paint his fence. You and two of your workers stopped and ended up painting his entire fence. She also describes you as an exceptional uncle to both her children and writes of your relationship with your own children and how they are missing you.
52Your daughter writes of your generosity and gentle heart. She has relied heavily on you for emotional support and to help her through her own difficulties. She has struggled since your incarceration.
53Your son Ayden writes that he has struggled since your remand. He states that you have always been there for him and that you are the only person that truly understands him.
54Your aunt Sharon also speaks of you as a gentle and kind person. She has never heard you speak or conduct yourself inappropriately or disrespectfully
55Valdenka Stevkovski has known you for more than 25 years. You and she had an 'on and off again' relationship. You have stayed in touch and remain friends. She writes that you have always been there for her and her three children, two of whom are girls, and states they have never felt uncomfortable in your presence. She considers that the conduct of which you have been found guilty is completely out of character.
56Deborah Clancy has been close friends with your parents for the past 47 years. She writes that from a very young age you have always exhibited a kind and respectful manner. You have worked on several painting projects for Mrs Clancy’s businesses and have proven yourself to be reliable and dedicated to delivering quality work.
57Greg Buckley has known you for approximately 20 years. He considers you a kind and compassionate person. He states you have a passion for restoring vintage motocross bikes, and the two of you occasionally ride motorbikes together.
58It is clear from the character references that you are a person who has many otherwise good qualities: a good father, son and brother, a hard worker, and a generous and kind person. These qualities are quite at odds with the offences you committed.
Sentencing considerations
Seriousness of Offending
59Sexual offending against children is inherently serious. There is a presumption that harm will be caused to the child victim, and, in this case, the harm caused is well borne out by the victim impact statements of AB, her mother and her younger sister.
60Your counsel, in his written submissions, properly conceded the presumption of harm, acknowledged the victim impact statements, and did not seek to challenge any aspect of them. The impact of your offending on AB and her mother and sister, is a matter that informs my assessment of the gravity of your offending. However, I must not allow that impact to overwhelm the other sentencing considerations.
61The maximum penalty for the offence of sexual penetration of a child under 16 is 15 years’ imprisonment, and the maximum penalty for sexual assault of a child under 16 is 10 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalties reflect the seriousness with which Parliament, on behalf of the community, views such offending.
62You were found guilty of eight separate charges. On the question of the period over which you offended, I prefer the evidence of CD, who was able to mark the end of your relationship (and hence your offending) by reference to her sons’ birthdays in June. Accordingly, I will sentence on the basis that your offending took place over an approximate four-month period.
63I have regard to the fact that there was a significant age difference of some 25 years between you and AB. You were 39 and she was 14 at all relevant times. Your counsel properly acknowledged the power imbalance between you. Moreover, you were in a position of trust as the partner of her mother. You were allowed to enter the victim’s home, allowed to stay overnight, and trusted to be with the children. You breached that trust in the most significant of ways. This is a significant aggravating feature of your offending conduct.
64Mr Stefanovic pointed to the absence of a number of aggravating features that commonly accompany such offending, such as there having been no violence other than that necessarily involved in the commission of the offences, no threats were made to AB, and no coercion, denigration or physical or mental abuse.
65With regard to Charges 1 to 7, and not intending to diminish the subjective feelings of AB, Mr Stefanovic submitted that each instance of sexual assault was far from the most serious type of sexual assault. A similar submission was made in respect of Charge 8, the digital penetration. Regarding that incident, Mr Stefanovic referred to AB’s VARE in which she stated, 'It wasn’t very long, maybe like 15, 20 seconds'. He submitted that the objective gravity of each offence falls below the mid-range level of seriousness.
66Mr Hardjadibrata submitted that in addition to the significant age difference and the trust reposed in you, the offences were committed late at night in the victim’s own home, a place in which she was entitled to feel safe. Furthermore, some of the offences were committed in her bedroom with you getting into her bed. Whilst Mr Hardjadibrata did not submit that you 'groomed' AB, he nevertheless pointed to the close relationship you developed with her.
67In my opinion, your offending against AB was serious. I do not accept that the objective gravity of your offending falls below the mid-range level. To the extent that it is helpful to do so, I would place the seriousness of each of the charges at or near the mid-range level of seriousness. In so characterising the gravity of your offending, and whilst recognising that some acts of conduct are less serious than others, I also must have regard to the age difference between you and AB, the power imbalance between you, the pre-meditation involved in the commission of each offence, the fact that they all occurred in the victim’s home, at times in the victim’s bed and, importantly, that they each involved an egregious breach of trust.
68I consider that your moral culpability overall is high. You knew that your offending was wrong. Your offending continued over an approximate four-month period. You had ample opportunity to reflect on your behaviour and to stop. In my opinion, there was nothing put on your behalf that in any way lessened the degree of your moral culpability.
Other Sentencing Considerations
69You pleaded not guilty to each of the charges, as was your right. You maintain that you are not guilty. You are clearly without any sense of remorse for your conduct. While you are not to be punished for contesting the charges at trial, your lack of remorse and insight into your behaviour is a factor I take into account in my assessment of your prospects for rehabilitation, the need for specific deterrence and the need to protect the community from you.
70I accept your counsel’s submission concerning s5AA of the Sentencing Act. It was not suggested that your previous good character was of assistance to you in the commission of these offences. So much was accepted by the learned prosecutor.
71Significant weight must attach to general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment. Persons who commit offences of the kind you committed, or who are tempted to commit such offences, should understand that they risk stern punishment should they do so. Your corrosive conduct, committed against a young, trusting child, must also be strongly denounced through the sentence to be imposed.
72
In light of your denial of the offending, it is difficult to assess your prospects of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, I have regard to the strong support you receive from your family and children, your excellent work history, the relatively few prior convictions, the fact that you have not been in any further trouble, and the bundle of character references tendered on your behalf. I also have regard to
Mr Candlish’s assessment that you fall into the low-risk category for sexual offending.
73With regard to your denial of the offending, Mr Candlish stated that a person might deny their offending and yet recognise that there is a need to address various issues and show receptiveness to risk management approaches and recommendations and other interventions designed to assist the person to pursue an offence free lifestyle in the future. It is to be hoped that you will fall into that category, although nothing was put to me in this regard. Should you be amenable to such treatment and intervention, then I consider your prospects of rehabilitation to be good. You clearly also need to address your reliance upon alcohol and address that particular disorder.
74In Stafford v The Queen,[1] the court considered that the delay of over four years between the commission of the offences and sentencing, none of which was attributable to the appellant in that case, imposed a heavy burden on all parties, including the appellant. The Court stated:
'Similarly, an unresolved plea of not guilty over an extended period over and above that which might reasonably be required to bring a matter to trial is a burden that must be acknowledged and taken into account by a sentencing Judge as appropriate. … And the burden of a delay in trial is not to be ignored merely because the accused person is ultimately found guilty.'
[1] [2022] VSCA 229 at [28]
75In Tori v The King[2] the Court referred to delay as a 'powerful mitigating factor' to be given proper weight in the sentencing synthesis.[3] Although delay was not a matter that received much attention by either counsel during the plea hearing, it is, in my opinion, a significant consideration.
[2] [2024] VSCA 162
[3] Ibid [35]
76The offences occurred some five and a half years ago. You have not in that time offended in any way.
77You were interviewed by police about these allegations on 19 August 2021. You were then placed on bail. You were not charged with the offences until May 2022. The charges did not proceed to trial until late May 2024. These allegations have been hanging over you since August 2021. You have been in a state of suspense as to what might happen to you since then. The resultant stress has caused an increase in your alcohol consumption. You have also complied with conditions of bail since 19 August 2021. Fairness requires that these matters be taken into account in mitigation of sentence.
78The standard sentencing regime applies to the offences you committed. The standard sentence for sexual penetration of a child under 16 is six years’ imprisonment, and for the offence of sexual assault of a child under 16, it is four years’ imprisonment.
79The standard sentences operate as a guide, similar to the maximum sentences that may be imposed, and do not alter the established principles by which a particular sentence is to be determined.[4] Section 5A(1) of the Sentencing Act provides that the standard sentence specified is the sentence that, taking into account only the 'objective factors' affecting the relative seriousness of the offence, is in the 'middle of the range' of seriousness of the offence. Section 5A(3) provides that the 'objective factors affecting the relative seriousness of an offence are to be determined without reference to matters personal to you, and wholly by reference to the nature of the offending'.
[4] See DPP v Todd [2019] VSC 585 at [60]-[61]
80I intend to impose sentences on each of the charges that are below the standard sentence applicable. I do so having regard to all the relevant sentencing considerations that inform the instinctive synthesis approach to sentencing, including those matters relied upon by your counsel in mitigation of penalty, the significant delay in prosecution, the fact that you have never before offended in this way, and that this is your first time in custody. I also have some regard to the fact that you have lost your business since being remanded.
81I have also had regard to the sentencing cases to which I was referred by the learned prosecutor and to the Sentencing Advisory Council’s sentencing statistics to which I was referred by Mr Stefanovic. I have also had regard to a number of other sentencing cases of both the Court of Appeal and this court in my consideration of current sentencing practice. I have had regard only to those sentencing cases to which the standard sentence regime applies. Sentences passed in other cases may provide some assistance in informing the instinctive synthesis, but they are not precedents that must be followed. Each case must ultimately be decided by reference to the circumstances personal to you, the circumstances of your offending, and the aggravating and mitigating features present in your case.
82As I propose to sentence you to terms of imprisonment on Charges 1 and 2, you become a serious sexual offender in respect of Charges 3 to 8. Thus, protection of the community is the principal purpose for which the sentence on each of those charges is to be imposed.[5] Furthermore, each sentence on those charges is to be served cumulatively on each other unless otherwise directed.[6] However, the prosecution does not seek a disproportionate sentence, and I consider the totality principle of sentencing has application. Accordingly, I do not intend to impose sentences that are fully cumulative.
[5] Section 6D Sentencing Act 1991
[6] Section 6E Sentencing Act 1991
Sentence
83Mr Pyle, I impose the following sentences.
84On Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to three months' imprisonment.
85On Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment.
86On Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
87On Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.
88On Charge 5, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment.
89On Charge 6, you are convicted and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.
90On Charge 7, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment.
91On Charge 8, you are convicted and sentenced to four years and 10 months' imprisonment.
92The sentence imposed on Charge 8 is the base sentence. I direct that two months of the sentence imposed on Charge 2, two months of the sentence imposed on Charge 3, three months of the sentence imposed on Charge 4, two months of the sentence imposed on Charge 5, three months of the sentence imposed on Charge 6 and two months of the sentence imposed on Charge 7, be served cumulatively on each other and on the base sentence.
93This makes a total effective sentence of six years' imprisonment. I set a non-parole period of four years' imprisonment.
94Pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act, the period of 201 days not including today is reckoned as a period of imprisonment already served under this sentence.
95I declare you are sentenced as a serious sexual offender on Charges 3 to 8, and that will be entered into the records of the court.
96Pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act, having been found guilty of a Class 1 offence and guilty of Class 2 offences, you are placed on the Sex Offenders Register and the period of reporting is for life. I will have forwarded to you documents setting out your reporting obligations under the Act.
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