Legal Research
Cases
Jwe v Tasmania

Jwe v Tasmania

Case [2025] TASCCA 8 24 July 2025

Statutory Interpretation

No judgment structure available for this case.

Type to search within this case.

[2025] TASCCA 8

COURT:	SUPREME COURT OF TASMANIA (COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL)
CITATION:	JWE v Tasmania [2025] TASCCA 8
PARTIES:	JWE
v
STATE OF TASMANIA
FILE NO:	CCA 2609/2024
DELIVERED ON:	24 July 2025
DELIVERED AT:	Hobart
HEARING DATE:	2 July 2025
JUDGMENT OF:	Estcourt J, Brett J, Cuthbertson J
CATCHWORDS:

Criminal Law – Appeal and new trial – Appeal against sentence – Grounds for interference – Sentence manifestly excessive or inadequate – Appellant pleaded guilty to three counts of incest with his biological daughter – Complainant was 17 at the time the incidents occurred – Custodial sentence of four and a half years ineligible for parole until half served – Complainant suffered significant mental health issues – Appellant was the only source of immediate support – Serious crime with significant aggravating circumstances – Sentence must reflect modern attitudes towards crimes of this nature – Comfortably within the sentencing discretion afforded to the judge – Sentence not manifestly excessive – Appeal dismissed.

Aust Dig Criminal Law [3521]

Legislation:
Criminal Code Act 1924 (Tas)
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 (Tas)

Sentencing Act 1997 (Tas)

Cases:
DPP v Dalgliesh (a Pseudonym) [2016] VSCA 148
Hall v Tasmania [2015] TASCCA 6
R v G [1993] TASSC 70
R v Kilic (2016) 259 CLR 256, 339 ALR 229
Reid (a Pseudonym) v The Queen [2014] VSCA 145, 42 VR 295

Taylor v The State of Western Australia [2015] WASCA 72

REPRESENTATION:

Counsel:

Appellant: In person
Respondent: E Judd

Solicitors:

Respondent: Office of Director of Public Prosecutions

Judgment Number:	[2025] TASCCA 8
Number of paragraphs:	32

Serial No 8/2025

File No CCA 2609/2024

JWE v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT	COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL ESTCOURT J BRETT J CUTHBERTSON J 24 July 2025
Order of the Court:
Appeal dismissed.

Serial No 8/2025

File No CCA 2609/2024

JWE v STATE OF TASMANIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT	COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL ESTCOURT J 24 July 2025
The appeal

1             The appellant, JWE, appealed to this Court against a sentence of four and a half years' imprisonment and an order that he not be eligible for parole until he had served half of that term. The Court dismissed the appeal following the hearing on 2 July 2025. These are my reasons for joining in the order of the Court.
2            The single sentence was imposed by Pearce J on 27 August 2024, upon the appellant's pleas of guilty to three counts of incest.
3             The learned sentencing judge also made an order under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 directing that the Registrar place the appellant’s name on the Register kept under that Act and that the appellant comply with the reporting obligations under the Act for 10 years from the date of his release from prison. That order is not the subject of any appeal.
4   The appeal is on the sole ground that the sentence was manifestly excessive in all of the
circumstances.
5…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Jwe v Tasmania

Details

AGLC: Jwe v Tasmania [2025] TASCCA 8
Case: [2025] TASCCA 8
Decision Date: 24 July 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The appellant, Jwe, appealed against a sentence imposed by the Supreme Court of Tasmania. Jwe had pleaded guilty to three counts of incest with his biological daughter, who was 17 years old at the time of the offences. The sentence imposed was four and a half years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and three months.

The primary legal issue before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Tasmania was whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive, thereby justifying interference on appeal. The court was required to consider the gravity of the offences, the circumstances surrounding them, and whether the sentence reflected contemporary community standards and sentencing principles.

The court acknowledged the serious nature of the offences and the significant aggravating circumstances, including the vulnerability of the complainant and the breach of trust inherent in the appellant's position as a parent. While noting the appellant's role as the complainant's sole source of immediate support, the court found that these factors did not render the sentence of four and a half years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of half the sentence, manifestly excessive. The judges applied the principle that sentences for such offences must reflect modern attitudes and that the imposed sentence fell comfortably within the sentencing discretion afforded to the trial judge.

Consequently, the appeal against sentence was dismissed.

Orders