McPherson v The Queen

John Stanley McPherson appealed against his conviction and sentence for sexual offences committed against children under the age of 16. The court was required to determine whether the sentence was manifestly excessive, having regard to the appellant's consent to a forfeiture order, age, remorse, pleas of guilty and otherwise good character. The appellant pleaded guilty to 19 charges of indecent act with a child under 16, and one charge of persistent sexual abuse of a child under 16. The trial judge accepted the Crown's submission that a sentence of between six and nine years' imprisonment was appropriate on the charge of persistent sexual abuse. The judge imposed a sentence of five years and six months on that charge. The appellant submitted that the judge had applied the entire 18 month discount for the appellant's consent to the forfeiture order to the sentence on Charge 1, and that this was manifestly excessive. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal against sentence. The Court held that the ground of manifest excess was difficult to establish, as it involved persuading the appellate court that the sentence arrived at was so plainly outside the range of sentences available to the judge in the circumstances of the case that appellate intervention was warranted. The Court held that the total effective sentence and the non-parole period were stern, but they were within the available range. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.