R v Bradshaw (a pseudonym) - [2021] NSWDC 476

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Bradshaw (a pseudonym) [2021] NSWDC 476
Hearing dates: 23 July 2021
Decision date: 10 September 2021
Jurisdiction: Criminal
Before: Colefax SC DCJ
Decision:
Aggregate term of imprisonment of 12 years with a non parole period of 9 years.

Catchwords:
CRIME - SENTENCE - maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.

Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s66EA(1)

Cases Cited:
Burr v R [2020] NSWCCA 282; Jervis (a pseudonym) [2020] NSWDC 396

Category: Sentence
Parties: Regina (Crown)
Mr Bradshaw (a pseudonym) (offender)
Representation: Ms M. Knowles (Crown Prosecutor)
Mr M. Tedeschi AM QC with Ms C. Newman (Offender)

File Number(s): 2020/47551; 2020/47569
Publication restriction: Non publication and suppression orders made of the names of the (x2) victims and the offender and of any other information which might, directly or indirectly, identify any of them.

Judgment

Mr Bradshaw (a pseudonym), you appear for sentence in relation to two offences (sequences 7 and 4), each being that, as an adult, you maintained an unlawful sexual relationship with a child (a different child being involved in each offence). The offence is also commonly referred to as the persistent sexual abuse of a child.
These offences are contraventions of s66EA(1) of the Crimes Act1900 (NSW).
The maximum penalty for each offence is imprisonment for life. There is no standard non-parole period.
The offending conduct captured by sequence 7 took place between 1 January 2014 and 19 August 2017, and before the amendments to s66EA(1) which came into effect on 1 December 2018.
The offending conduct captured by sequence 4 took place between 1 January 2016 and 8 February 2020. Therefore, some of that conduct took place before, and some after, those amendments.
However, the amendments (increasing the maximum penalty from 25 years imprisonment to life imprisonment; reducing the ingredient / foundational offences from 3 to 2; and possibly changing or altering the nature of the offence – cf Burr v R [2020] NSWCCA 282 per Johnson J at [104], with whom Leeming JA and Rothman J agreed) were retrospective (cf R v Jervis (a pseudonym) [2020] NSWDC 396 per Haesler SC DCJ at [29] – [30]).
The facts surrounding your offending are contained in a document entitled “Agreed Facts” signed by the Crown prosecutor on 16 March 2021; and you and your “legal representative” on 6 April 2021.
Before turning to those facts, it is necessary (because of a dispute between you and the Crown as to the proper construction of that document to which I shall refer later in these remarks) to set out the description of the offence in each relevant Charge Certificate.
The description of the offence in the Charge Certificate for sequence 7 was as follows:

“Between 1 January 2014 and 19 August 2017, at Lurnea, Bringelly And Elsewhere in the State of New South Wales, [you] did maintain an unlawful sexual relationship with Ruby (a pseudonym), a child then under the age of 16 years, namely, 7 to…

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 R v Bradshaw (a pseudonym)

Details

AGLC: R v Bradshaw (a pseudonym) [2021] NSWDC 476
Case: [2021] NSWDC 476
Decision Date: 10 September 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of R v Bradshaw involved the defendant who was charged with maintaining a sexual relationship with a child. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The defendant was convicted and the matter proceeded to sentencing. The court was tasked with determining an appropriate sentence for the defendant's crimes, which involved a sexual relationship with a child, a serious and heinous offence.

The primary legal issue before the court was the appropriate sentence for the defendant's crimes, which involved maintaining a sexual relationship with a child. The court considered a range of factors in determining the appropriate sentence, including the nature and circumstances of the offence, the defendant's culpability, and the need for deterrence and denunciation. The court also considered the impact of the offence on the victim and the community more broadly.

In delivering its judgment, the court noted the seriousness of the offence and the need for a sentence that reflected the gravity of the crime. The court found that the appropriate sentence was an aggregate term of imprisonment of 12 years, with a non-parole period of 9 years. The court noted that this sentence reflected the seriousness of the offence, provided deterrence, and protected the community. The court also noted that the sentence provided the defendant with an opportunity for rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

The court made an order for the defendant to serve an aggregate term of imprisonment of 12 years, with a non-parole period of 9 years. The defendant was also ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years following his release from prison.

Orders

Orders of the court

Aggregate term of imprisonment of 12 years with a non parole period of 9 years.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Bradshaw (a pseudonym) [2021] NSWDC 476
Hearing dates:	23 July 2021
Decision date:	10 September 2021
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Colefax SC DCJ
Decision:	Aggregate term of imprisonment of 12 years with a non parole period of 9 years.
Catchwords:	CRIME - SENTENCE - maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.
Legislation Cited:	Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s66EA(1)
Cases Cited:	Burr v R [2020] NSWCCA 282; Jervis (a pseudonym) [2020] NSWDC 396
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	Regina (Crown) Mr Bradshaw (a pseudonym) (offender)
Representation:	Ms M. Knowles (Crown Prosecutor) Mr M. Tedeschi AM QC with Ms C. Newman (Offender)
File Number(s):	2020/47551; 2020/47569
Publication restriction:	Non publication and suppression orders made of the names of the (x2) victims and the offender and of any other information which might, directly or indirectly, identify any of them.