Director of Public Prosecutions v Whitecroft (a pseudonym)
[2024] VCC 775
•30 May 2024
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| RICHARD WHITECROFT (A PSEUDONYM) |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
DATE OF HEARING: | 17 May 2024 |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 30 May 2024 |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Whitecroft (a pseudonym) |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 775 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: | CRIMINAL LAW |
Catchwords: | Indecent act with a child under 16 – Incest and attempted incest – Victim was younger sister - Offender between 15 and 17 years at the time of offending – Significant lapse in time since offending - No criminal history prior to or following offending period – In person pre-text conversation – Utilitarian benefit of guilty plea – Partial evidence of remorse. |
Legislation Cited: | Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) |
Cases Cited: | R v PJP [2007] VSCA 242 |
Sentence: | 2 years 6 months’ imprisonment, 18 months’ non-parole period. |
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr G. Mohammed | Office of Public Prosecutions |
For the Accused | Mr A. Halphen | Stary Norton Halphen |
HER HONOUR:
1Richard Whitecroft[1], you have pleaded guilty before me to two charges of indecent act with a child under 16; two charges of attempted incest; and four charges of incest. The facts underlying your offending are as follows.
[1] A pseudonym.
2At the time of this offending you were aged between 15 and 17 years. The victim was your younger sister, Amanda,[2] and she was aged between 12 and
14 years at the time of the offending. She had not engaged in any sexual activity prior to the offences, the sexual assaults you inflicted upon her.[2] A pseudonym.
3All the offences occurred at the family property between 1998 and 2000, that being a home in Warrandyte[3] which was a 5 acre property, mainly bushland with a family house, various buildings, orchards and a few green sheds.
[3] Location de-identified.
4In her statement to police, Ms Whitecroft referred to the green shed, which was the green shed closest to the house that was at the time a part workshop, part music room, and storage for her older brother, Ryan[4] - it was eventually renovated and became his bedroom.
[4] A pseudonym.
5It should be noted that a number of the charges are what are called rolled up charges, that is they include more than one separate act. Charge 1 is a rolled up charge comprising two separate acts; Charge 2 is a rolled up charge comprising three separate acts; Charge 4 is a rolled up charge comprising two separate acts; and Charge 6 is a rolled up charge comprising four separate acts.
6I am going to summarise the offending with close reference to the prosecution summary which describes the offending by way of incident.
Incident 1
7Incident 1 occurred when Ms Whitecroft was in Year 7 at school, on an unknown date between 1 January and 31 December 1998, when she was about 12 and you were about 15. You were giving her a dink on the back of your motorbike at the family property. You reached around with your left arm and grabbed her left hand and put it on your crotch, over your clothing. You kept riding so she was unable to get off and started to rub your crotch with her hand. This is part of Charge 1 on the Indictment.
8According to what she said in her statement to police, Ms Whitecroft froze when this happened. Your penis was already erect when you put her hand on it, and you kept her hand there for about five minutes before pulling over and stopping near the green shed at the front of the house. You then put your hand around Ms Whitecroft’s wrist and led her into the shed. She did not want to go in, but you said 'I will tell Mum and Dad if you don't do this'. You sat her down on some carpet near music equipment, grabbed her hand, put it on your crotch over your clothing and began stroking your erect penis with her hand. Again, these actions are part of Charge 1.
9While at the garage on the same occasion, after about five minutes you pulled your pants down revealing your erect penis, took one of your sister's hands, put it around your penis, and then holding her hand, caused her to masturbate you. This action is part of Charge 2.
10During this time your sister had turned away and shut her eyes as she could not bear to look at what you were making her do. You continued to masturbate with her hand until you ejaculated, and she then immediately ran out of the shed, over to the house. By way of context, in her statement
Ms Whitecroft stated that many incidents occurred in that green shed where you made her masturbate you. She could not describe all of them, saying they were countless in numbers and estimating that would occur a couple of times a week. She stopped wearing shoes outside as an excuse not to go on a motorbike with you.Incident 2
11Incident 2, which underlies Charge 3, occurred in the spring or summer of 1998, again when Ms Whitecroft was at the start of Year 7 at school and the two of you were in the shed. You were sitting on the carpet and you dragged your sister down next to you. You then lowered your pants and underwear and said to your sister 'just put your mouth around it'. She refused and you put your hands around the back of her head and pushed her head towards your penis.
12Your sister closed her lips as tight as possible and tried to pull away and you eventually gave up.
Incident 3
13Incident 3 occurred about a week after incident 2, when you and Ms Whitecroft were sitting on the carpet in the green shed near a drum set. You pulled your pants down, grabbed Ms Whitecroft’s hand and put it on your penis, and for about 30 seconds held her hand to guide it while she was made to masturbate your penis, and then let it go by which time Ms Whitecroft was masturbating you by herself. This action is part of Charge 2.
14About a minute later you told Ms Whitecroft to put her mouth around your penis. She was saying 'no,’ you then putting your hand around her head and pushing her mouth down to your penis. She kept her mouth as tightly closed as possible, but you kept pushing her and stating 'open your mouth'.
15In her statement to police Ms Whitecroft said she felt pain as you were pushing her head down and she was trying to pull away, but she eventually gave in and opened her mouth and you put your penis in her mouth, thrusting in and out. That action underlies part of Charge 4.
16Because Ms Whitecroft had her mouth only loosely around your penis you kept saying 'suck it, suck it', she refusing to do so. You then removed your penis from her mouth and continued to masturbate yourself in her presence until you ejaculated. These actions comprise an uncharged act.
Incident 4
17Incident 4, also underlying Charge 4, occurred about a week after incident 3, when you and the complainant were in the green shed, you sitting on the carpet pulling her down to sit with you, then pulling down your pants and underwear, exposing your penis and telling the complainant to put her lips 'around it and suck it' and she refusing.
18You became more demanding and pushed her head down to your penis. She kept her mouth shut but you continued to push her head down with increased intensity, at which time she gave up, opened her mouth and you then inserted your penis into her mouth. This action underlies part of Charge 4.
19The complainant kept her mouth open, with you becoming frustrated and telling her to close it. She complied but continued to fight with you. About a moment or so later you removed your penis from her mouth, grabbed her hand, put it around your penis and told her to 'finish it off'. That action underlies part of Charge 2.
20The complainant complied and proceeded to masturbate you until you ejaculated, while holding her around her left shoulder. You let go of her after ejaculating and she ran out of the shed, headed back to the house and into her room.
Incident 5
21Incident 5 underlies Charge 5 on the indictment. It occurred towards the end of 1998 when the complainant was either 12 or had just turned 13. One weekend she was lying on a couch under a doona in the living room and watching TV, and you came in and sat down on the couch, pulling the doona over both of you. She tried to push you off with her feet saying 'get off, go somewhere else'. There were other family members at home but not in the living room at the time, and the complainant could hear her mother in the kitchen. In response to her saying that, you grabbed her feet and said 'be quiet, someone will hear'.
22You then put your hands inside the complainant's pyjamas which were loosely fitted and started to play with her vagina. You inserted your fingers inside her vagina and that action underlies Charge 5 on the indictment. You did this for between five and 10 minutes. During this time, your brother Oliver[5] came into the room and sat on the armchair but you continued to touch the complainant's vagina, inserting your fingers inside, under the doona, whilst your brother Oliver was present in the room.
[5] A pseudonym.
23The complainant started to push you with her feet to get you away. You did not put up a fight on this occasion and pulled your hand away and she got up and returned to her bedroom.
Incident 6
24Incident 6 underlies part of Charge 6. In early 1999 the complainant was in Year 8 and aged 13. On a date between 1 January and 31 December 1999, the two of you were in the green shed. You bent the complainant over a bed in the shed, where she was face down, and pulled her pants down. You then pulled out a tube from your pocket which was lubricant, put some on the complainant's buttocks and started to rub the lubricant and insert your finger into the complainant's anus for a couple of moments. This is an uncharged act.
25You then put lubricant on your penis and inserted the head of your penis into the complainant's anus. This action underlies part of Charge 6.
26At this time the complainant was screaming in pain and because of this you pushed her head into the bed and put a pillow over her head to muffle the sounds of her screaming. After a couple of moments you pulled out your penis and ejaculated on her lower back and buttocks. The complainant then cleaned herself up with a tissue, got up and ran out.
Incident 7
27Incident 7 occurred on a different date in the same year as incident 6, at which time the complainant was menstruating. You came into her bedroom and wanted her to bend over the bed and she told you she had her period. You replied you did not care and pushed her over the bed, she being face down, pulled down her pants and inserted your penis into her anus. This action underlies part of Charge 6.
28You continued the act until you were ready to ejaculate, then withdrew your penis and ejaculated on her lower back and buttocks. You then cleaned yourself and left the room.
Incident 8
29Incident 8 underlies Charge 7. On a date between 1 January and 31 December 1999 you and the complainant were at home alone. At this time she was in Year 8 at school. She was in her bedroom and you came in saying that you wanted her to see something, grabbed her hand and took her to your bedroom. You showed her some cartoon sketches that you had made. She said 'yeah they're good' and tried to walk out. You grabbed her arm, pushed her face down on the bed so that her waist was over the edge of the bed and she was kneeling on the floor. You pulled down her pants and underwear and tried to insert your penis into her anus, at which time the complainant was crying and in pain as it hurt her.
30You were not gentle and you kept pushing your penis hard, attempting to insert it in her anus. You then missed her anus, instead inserting your penis into her vagina. This caused the complainant pain as it was the first time she experienced vaginal sex. You continued the intercourse in her vagina, withdrawing your penis immediately before ejaculating and then ejaculating on her back. The complainant lay there as you grabbed a sock and cleaned her back. She pulled up her pants and ran back to her bedroom, shutting the door, turning off the lights, and pulling the doona over her head as she was terrified and did not want anyone to see her, especially her parents, who would not come in and see her if her bedroom lights were off.
Incident 9
31Incident 9 occurred on a different but unknown date between 1 January and 31 December 1999. You took the complainant to the green shed which had now been turned into a bedroom for your brother. You pushed her over the bed so she was face down kneeling on the floor. You pulled down her pants and inserted your penis into her anus. This action underlies part of Charge 6. Apparently, your mother was gardening just outside the shed about 30 metres away, so the complainant started screaming as loudly as she could. You paused, asked the complainant 'what's wrong' and she continually responded to you 'it's hurting'. You then spat on your penis to make it more lubricated and continued to insert your penis into the complainant's anus. Those actions also underlie part of Charge 6.
32The complainant screamed as loudly as she could at which point you grabbed a pillow off the bed and put it over her bed and continued having intercourse with her. You then withdrew your penis and ejaculated on her lower back and buttocks. The complainant ran back into the house and while running could see her mother gardening and was thought 'why didn't you come, didn't you hear'.
33Later at tea time, your mother made a comment stating 'what were you kids screaming about earlier' but the complainant felt disheartened and simply said '[Rick] was being mean to me'.
Incident 10
34Incident 10 underlies Charge 8. On an unknown date between 1 January and 30 June 2000 on a weekend, the complainant was in the shower one morning when you came into the bathroom. You shut the door, put your finger over the complainant's mouth indicating she keep quiet, then got undressed, opened the shower door and got inside the shower, where you whispered to her 'be quiet'. You then tried to insert your penis into her anus but were unable to do this because of the constricted space in the shower.
35You continued trying to insert your penis into her anus a few times, asking the complainant to bend forward but she remained upright. You continued to try inserting your penis in her anus but when you could not do so, grabbed the complainant's hand, put it around your penis and masturbated using her hand until you ejaculated. This action is an uncharged act. The complainant got out of the shower and started to dry herself, you remained in longer and washed yourself before getting out.
36Whilst the complainant was still drying herself you said to her 'wait until I am ready' standing between the complainant and the door. Because there were other people at home at the time you were listening at the door to see if anyone was nearby, and when no-one could be heard you opened the door and both of you left the bathroom. The complainant as would seem to have always been the case, returned to her bedroom.
37The complainant kept the incidents to herself for about four years before disclosing them to her then partner, then to her parents. She did not report the matter to police until 2019 and her statement was not finalised until February 2021.
38On 6 November 2021 the complainant initiated an in‑person pretext conversation with you, meeting you at a park. During that conversation, Ms Whitecroft confronted you with the sexual assaults you had inflicted upon her. You apologised saying 'I was fucked in the head as a little kid. I've been regretting it my whole life. I'm so sorry'. You said you had no answers, you said you did not know why you did it, you said you regretted it, you did not remember half of it, you wished you could take everything back.
39The investigation was delayed due to the COVID‑19 pandemic. Following the complainant beginning her statement she suffered, as many complainants in sexual assaults do, re-traumatisation in the process as a result of having to recount the sexual trauma she experienced and did not complete her statement, as I have said, until 2021.
40On 19 August 2022 you were arrested and interviewed in relation to the charges. You attended the Mernda police station by appointment and produced a pre-prepared handwritten document which you read during the interview. In that statement you said that many of the things raised by the complainant happened, but many did not. You said that none of the sexual assaults were forced. You denied ever having penile/vaginal intercourse. You stated 'on a handful of occasions over a year or two when I was between 14 and 15, we engaged in other sexual acts including masturbating each other and performing oral sex on each other'.
41You said this stopped when you were 16 and started dating a girl. You said you were sorry for pain you had caused your sister. It is clear, given your plea, that this statement contained a number of untruths.
42This matter proceeded to the first day of a contested committal hearing when the matter was settled to the current pleas on the indictment and no witnesses were cross-examined in that process.
43I now turn to the victim impact statement from the complainant. It was an extremely lengthy victim impact statement. What I have to say in relation to it is a summary only and touches upon the most salient points in my view, insofar as the effect this offending had upon her.
44Ms Whitecroft outlined in the victim impact statement how during these sexual assaults she begged you to stop, she screamed, bit and cried. She noted that you had taken on a particular role, it would seem as a protector towards your sister, so she was more often left alone with you by your parents. She wrote that she lost count of the number of times you sexually assaulted her.
45She spoke of the unbearable emotional pain she has endured over the years leading to multiple suicide attempts. She said her family relationships were destroyed and she could not understand after her disclosure to her parents, why you continued to be so much a part of the family. It was only after your brother Oliver’s death, that the complainant became aware of the version of events you had told your parents in those years.
46The complainant spoke about the destruction of her relationship with every member of her family, of the fact that she was told she was overreacting and that one of her most enduring painful regrets is that her brother Oliver died believing that you and she had engaged in consensual, mutual activity.
47Ms Whitecroft outlined that the anal sexual assaults have left her with a permanent physical disability. She suffers, as a result of tearing of the rectum that occurred at the time, from a condition whereby the wall between the rectum and vagina is thinned, and she still has difficulty passing stools.
48She has clearly gone on to develop and has been diagnosed with a number of psychological conditions, including a borderline personality trauma; complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which this court commonly sees where children grow up in an unsafe household; depression and anxiety.
49Whilst she was able to go on and qualify as a veterinary surgeon, the psychological damage in particular has completely undermined her efforts.
50The complainant wrote about her efforts over the years to forge a career, but stating ultimately:
Uunchecked anxiety gave way to poor time management, imposter syndrome and overcompensation. I am no longer a desirable employee. My surgery is limited. I am fearful of consulting. I take a lot of time off work due to my poor health. My lack of executive function is problematic. Instead of leading a life free of money worries I am renting and living week-to-week. My salary combined with welfare payments is barely covering the cost of living. There are weeks where there is no money left for food and I rely on the local community service providing food vouchers.
51At p3 of her victim impact statement, Ms Whitecroft wrote:
For three years over 1,000 days of experiencing repetitive sexual attacks of a cycle of coping mechanisms was formed. During the moments when I was being abused, fight flight mode was instantly intensified. Once he had control of my body I had to escape like a reflex. Trauma sitting/disassociation took over, dampening the responses of my physical body. Reaching orgasm, his body uncontrollably jerking, releasing the force holding me down. This was flight's cue to take over and without hesitation I ran away and hid. Hiding allowed me to supress the emotions of fear, terror, disgust, supress some memory, the thoughts, the images of what just occurred.
52Finally, in conclusion the complainant wrote:
The long term effects of the abuse have left an indelible mark on my life. As an adolescent victim of repeated trauma, my brain developed coping mechanisms that have permanently altered its structure. These changes have made it challenging to experience a normal life. I struggle with autoimmune diseases.
53The complainant I should add, drew a link between a number of autoimmune conditions she has developed. The prosecution does not rely on that in terms of the effect that it is said to have had upon the complainant, because the supporting science is not yet sufficiently established. However, I make mention of that because I am reading directly from the statement.
54She speaks of:
… struggling with disrupted sleep, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, addiction and complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have become constant companions. The trauma has ravaged my emotional intelligence, social relationships, physical and mental health and financial stability. The protective mechanisms that once shielded me from external harm have also turned against me, depriving me of joy and aliveness. Trauma splitting has disconnected me from my physical body, making selfcare a constant struggle. I have lost touch with my motivations, needs, desires, interests, passions and even my sex drive. The prognosis for recovery is poor, but I hold onto hope that my voice will be heard and that I will find a way to heal and reclaim my life.
55Unfortunately, this court has heard victim impact statements describing the effect of sexual abuse, particularly childhood sexual abuse, precisely in the terms described by your sister, Mr Whitecroft. Children who suffer sexual abuse go on to develop commonly, it is seen in these courts, lifelong psychological difficulties which ravage their lives and ripple out to have precisely the effects described by your sister.
Personal circumstances
56You are the second of four children. You grew up in Warrandyte, moving out of home when you were 24. You have no prior or subsequent criminal convictions. Nor is there any history of family involvement with police. Your mother previously worked as an accountant and your father worked in property maintenance. Your parents remain together and you enjoy a good relationship with them, speaking to them on a weekly basis and seeing them every few months.
57Your older brother works in a coordinating capacity for those suffering disabilities. He has two children. A younger brother died in 2019 of cancer after a long illness.
58You completed Year 12 and have since worked across a number of roles since leaving school, including as a motor mechanic, plumber, carpenter, in civil construction and in archaeological excavation. You hold licenses for a bobcat, excavation, a loader and a truck and have only been without employment between jobs.
59For the past four years you have worked as a ranger with the local indigenous land management agency. You hold a supervising role within that organisation. You have had four significant relationships, the last ending in 2022 of which you have a five-year-old daughter.
60As a result of being charged with this offending, Child Protection became involved. The investigation was concluded, and you now see your daughter under the supervision of her mother. You own a home in Bendigo.
61According to the written submissions of your counsel, between the ages of
15-17 you believed your friends were sexually active while you were not, and you connect the offending with curiosity and experimentation.62Had you been charged at the time of this offending you would have been dealt with as a child in the Children's Court. It was your counsel's submission that I should deal with you by way of a non-custodial disposition, either by way of a suspended sentence or by way of a community corrections order.
63Mr Halphen, in an extremely helpful plea, referred to a number of authorities which give direction as to how a court should deal in sentencing a person who committed the offending many years before as a child. In particular, the Court of Appeal in PJP[6] stated:
There is good reason to mitigate penalty or at least to do so where the offender has achieved a significant degree of rehabilitation and there has been no further offending. Although such offender falls to be sentenced as an adult, common sense and fairness dictate that the assessment of the nature and gravity of the crime, and of the offender's moral culpability take into account that what was done was done as a child, or as a person of immature years and not as an adult or a person of greater maturity.
[6]R v PJP [2007] VSCA 242 at [16] (Nettle, Ashley and Dodds-Streeton JJA).
64I was referred to a number of cases with similar fact scenarios involving fraternal incest by Mr Halphen. The problem is, Mr Whitecroft, I regard the nature and gravity of your offending as extremely high. I have little doubt that had you been dealt with at the time, you would have been placed in a period of youth detention.
65I refer to the prosecution submissions in this regard. It was a submission of the prosecution that the offending you engaged in was very much aggravated by force, by violence, in the face of continued protests and distress by your sister. The offending was prolonged and continued over a period of years.
66In sentencing you I am to have regard to current sentencing practices. It is notable that the offence of sexual penetration of a child under 16 now carries what is called a standard sentence of four years' imprisonment. Certainly, sentences for sexual offending such as incest have risen dramatically. The Court of Appeal in the case of Dalgleish in recent years has called for an increase in the sentences imposed for sex offending involving a family member.
67I bear in mind other Court of Appeal authority that such current sentencing practices should not play an inordinate role in the offending. Nor – although it is a matter that I must take into account – may a court place too much emphasis on the effects on the victim of the offending. However, the effects on the victim of the offending have an important role to play in my assessment of the objective gravity of your offending and the moral culpability attached to it.
68You may have at law been a child at the time of your offending, but in reality you were at the upper end of that age range. In my view, you were certainly old enough to appreciate the utter wrongness of your actions. Those actions were cruel, ruthless, predatory and prolonged no matter your age. They continued over years. Over and over you subjected your younger sister to violent, degrading and often painful sexual assault to the extent that to this day, she continues to suffer from its physical effects. Your capacity to appreciate its long-term psychological impact I accept may have been limited by your age and immaturity, but not your ability to perceive her ongoing and evident distress and pain.
69It is clear this had absolutely no deterrent effect on you and your horrific sexual assaults not only continued, but became I accept, more serious over time. The psychological damage to your sister has been overwhelming and I am satisfied marred and continues to mar every aspect of her life, despite her ongoing efforts over years, through therapy and counselling, to ameliorate the harm you have done to her.
70Clearly highly intelligent, she was able to qualify as a veterinary surgeon and for a time practice in that field, but the extreme trauma that you subjected her to and its well-recognised long-term effects have undermined and overwhelmed her every effort and left her psychologically diminished and now financially struggling.
71Had you been dealt with even as an 18-year-old in an adult court, I have no doubt you would have been gaoled or placed for an extended term in youth detention. Even if dealt with by the Children's Court, the serious nature of this offending would likely have attracted a term in youth detention.
72I regard, notwithstanding your age at the time of this offending, the objective and moral culpability of it as high. I also regard it as a serious example of such offending. The cruel lie you perpetrated, perhaps explicable in an immature man in his early 20s, but maintained by you 24 years later when interviewed by police, was not only personally humiliating to your sister in the circumstance of the actual sexual assault she endured, but robbed her of sorely needed support and solace from her parents, and added to her emotional suffering in the estrangement between them that ultimately ensued.
73I make the observation that all too often in cases involving fraternal incest, the sister, or young female relative, goes on as a result of the sexual assaults upon her, to develop precisely the disorders described by the complainant in this case. It makes that person difficult to deal with. Often I come to court and I will see the family in full support of their son, while the complainant sits on the other side of the court room alone. This is one of the most difficult results suffered by persons such as your sister who endured what she did at the age of 12, 13 and 14 at your hands. It is only part of the suffering you have imposed upon her.
74I have not been presented with anything other than partial remorse for your offending. It is clear that when confronted by your sister personally with no one around, you were prepared to offer some expression of remorse, or apology for what you did. However, it seems to me that as soon as your own personal situation was threatened, that is when you were confronted by police, you perpetuated that appalling lie.
75You are entitled to the utilitarian benefit of your guilty plea but it should attract no further discount. I do take into account that by your plea you have saved the complainant the trauma of undergoing the giving of evidence and cross-examination. You have also saved the community the time and expense of a trial.
76Your sister's life however has been blighted in every way by what you did to her. I accept the prosecution submission that only a term of imprisonment to be immediately served satisfies the principles of denunciation and just punishment, which are so prominent in the sentencing exercise before me.
77I accept and I take into account that you have not previously offended, nor have you gone on to offend. I make the point however, that very often in cases involving child sexual abuse this is often the case.
78I take into account that 24 years have elapsed since this offending. I accept the prosecution submission that the effect of delay in your case, insofar as the anxiety of having court proceedings hanging over your head, has limited application in this case because you were ultimately only made aware of these charges in 2022.
79In sentencing you of course I must take into account the fact that you were a child at that time. I must take into account the fact that serving a term of imprisonment now will be particularly difficult for you, and I do take that into account, and this sentence is very much moderated in the light of those factors. But ultimately the objective gravity and the moral culpability attached to your offending, together with the aspects, as I have said relating to current sentencing practices, and in particular the life-long damaging effect you have had upon your sister, have led me to the conclusion that only a term of imprisonment to be immediately served is appropriate in your case.
80I make the point again as I deliver these sentences, they are constrained in terms of length because of the factors that I have mentioned, in particular the lapse of time and the fact that you were a child at the time of this offending. Can you stand up please sir.
81On Charge 1, you are sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
82Charge 2, you are sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
83Charge 3, you are sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
84Charge 4, you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
85Charge 5, you are sentenced to 11 months' imprisonment.
86Charge 6, you are sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment.
87Charge 7, you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
88Charge 8, you are sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.
89The base sentence will be the sentence imposed on Charge 6, 14 months' imprisonment. I order that two months of the sentences imposed on Charges 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 and that three months of the sentences imposed on Charges 4 and 7 be served cumulatively to the sentence imposed on Charge 6 and all other sentences. This gives a total effective sentence of two and a half years and I order that you serve 18 months before becoming eligible for parole. You can have a seat please sir.
Section 6AAA declaration
90Pursuant to s6AAA I declare that had you not pleaded guilty I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of four and a half years and order that you serve a minimum term of two and a half years.
91Mr Mohammed, there is no PSD, is that right? Pre‑sentence detention?
92MR MOHAMMED: No pre-sentence detention, Your Honour.
93HER HONOUR: Thank you. I have had regard to the fact that I have the discretion to place you on the Sex Offenders Register. I do not regard you as an ongoing sexual threat. In my view, the current situation is one where the conditions that must be met before I make that decision, which are matters of which I have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt do not apply in your case and in my view, it is not appropriate that I place you on the Sex Offenders Registration?
94Is there anything else that I must?
95MR MOHAMMED: No, Your Honour.
96HER HONOUR: Thank you. Thank you very much. We will stand down in this court.
97MR MOHAMMED: May it please the court.
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