R v Cooper

The Court of Appeal of the Australian Capital Territory heard an appeal by the Crown against the sentence imposed on the respondent for child pornography offences. The respondent had pleaded guilty to intentionally possessing child pornography contrary to s 65(1) of the *Crimes Act 1900* (ACT) and using a carriage service to publish child pornography contrary to s 474.19 of the *Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995* (Cth). The Crown contended that the sentence imposed by the sentencing judge was manifestly inadequate, particularly concerning the ACT offence.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the sentencing judge erred in failing to give sufficient weight to the objective seriousness of the offending conduct and the need for general deterrence, and whether the judge correctly assessed the volume of child pornography material seized. The Crown also argued that the sentencing judge incorrectly found the offending conduct to be in the middle range of objective seriousness and made errors in the concurrent sentencing and the manner in which the sentence was to be served.

The Court of Appeal found that the sentencing judge had not given adequate weight to the paramount consideration of general deterrence in sentencing for child pornography offences. It was held that the objective seriousness of the offences, particularly given the vast quantity of material possessed, warranted a stronger sentence. The Court also noted that while good character can be a mitigating factor, its weight is dependent on the circumstances of the offending. The Court determined that the sentencing judge had misapprehended the volume of material seized and that the offending conduct was more serious than assessed.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal upheld the Crown's appeal. The sentence of one year and seven months imprisonment for the ACT offence was increased to two years and seven months. Eighteen months of this total sentence was to be served by periodic detention, with the balance suspended. The good behaviour order was confirmed but extended to two years.