R v Bowen

[2024] NSWDC 262

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Bowen [2024] NSWDC 262

Hearing dates:

26 June 2024

Date of orders:

28 June 2024

Decision date:

28 June 2024

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

J Smith SC DCJ

Decision:

(1)   The offender is convicted of the offence of using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

(2)   The offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 3 years and 10 months commencing on 13 April 2023 with a non-parole period of 2 years and 6 months expiring on 12 October 2025, and a further period of 1 year and 4 months expiring on 12 February 2027.

(3)   The offender will first be eligible for release on parole on 12 October 2025.

(4) Pursuant to section 23ZD of the Crimes Act 1914, the Samsung A12 - exhibit number X0001698459 is forfeited to the Commonwealth.

Catchwords:

CRIME – Child sex offences – Child abuse material – Using carriage service to access child abuse material – Mandatory Minimum Sentencing – Crimes Act s 16AAB -

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) ss 16A, 16AAB, 17A, 20(1)(b)

Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 474.22(1)

Cases Cited:

Hurt v The King; Delzotto v The King [2024] HCA 8;

Trinh v R [2024] VSCA 61;

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Rex (Crown)
Rodney Bowen (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel:
K. Fitzgerald (Crown)
J Wilcox (Offender)

Solicitors:
Hannigan (Crown)
D Glowrey (Offender)

File Number(s):

2023/00118068

Judgment

1. The offender has pleaded guilty to one offence of use carriage service to access child abuse material contrary to section 474.22(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). This offence carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment and has a minimum penalty of 4 years imprisonment.

2. As this is a Commonwealth offence, the Court must sentence the offender in accordance with Part 1B of the Commonwealth Crimes Act. Section 16A(1) of that Act requires the Court to impose a sentence that is of a severity appropriate in all the circumstances of the offence. In addition to any other relevant factors that appear on the material before the Court, that requires the Court to take into account the matters listed in section 16A(2), to the extent that they are relevant. The factors listed in that provision include the circumstances of the offence and requires me, in the first instance, to have regard to the facts of the offending and to make an assessment of their objective seriousness.

3. The facts of the offending are found in the statement of agreed facts and are as follows.

4. Between about 1 February 2022 and 22 March 2023, the offender used a mobile phone to search for, and then download, child abuse material. In total he downloaded 16 images constituting child abuse material onto his phone.

5. This material is categorised according to the Interpol Baseline Scale. On this scale, material falling within category 1 represents real children who are prepubescent and perceived to be under 13 years of age involved in a sex act,…