R v Cridland - [2024] NSWDC 408

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Cridland [2024] NSWDC 408
Hearing dates: 25 July 2024
Date of orders: 9 August 2024
Decision date: 09 August 2024
Jurisdiction: Criminal
Before: Tupman DCJ
Decision:
1. Offender is convicted.
2. For sequence 1, offender sentenced to a CCO for 3 years.
3. For sequence 2, offender sentenced to a CCO for 18 months.

Catchwords:
CRIME – sentence – two offences – possess child abuse material – s91H(2) Crimes Act 1900 – maximum penalty 10 years imprisonment – possess bestiality material – s547E(2) Crimes Act 1900 – maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment
EAGP SCHEME – delayed 1 year in Local Court – 11 mentions before committal – pleas of guilty inevitable – waste of court resources
OFFENCE – NSW Police Child Exploitation Unit – discovered downloads by offender of CAM over 5 days in March 2023 – search warrant – devices seized and examined – CAM found – offender arrested April 2023 – 213 images and videos category 1 – 315 images and videos category 2 – 17 images and videos bestiality material
OBJECTIVE SERIOUSNESS – sequence 1 – lower range – not victimless crimes – real children depicted – damage done to children is profound – fuels fantasies of child sexual assault offenders – short period of time – possession in circumstances where CAM embedded in enormous volumes of downloaded electronic material – majority was legal pornography, movies and television shows – offender viewed the material – did not intentionally seek out – sequence 2 – below mid-range – new offence – involved real adults and children engaging in sexual acts with animals – downloaded in similar way
SUBJECTIVE FACTORS – aged 39 – no criminal record – intelligent with tertiary qualifications – never had an intimate relationship – lives in state of social isolation – experienced emotional and physical abuse from father – depression and anxiety – receipt of psychiatric and psychological care – severe obesity requiring sleeve gastrectomy – suffered severe back injury – developed dependence on painkiller medication – dulled ability to make proper judgements – financially and emotionally supported by mother since arrest – diagnosed with multiple psychiatric conditions – offending arose in context of offender’s social isolation – maladaptive method of coping with conditions – began downloading large amounts of material during COVID – form of digital hoarding – relieved anxiety and form of distraction – apology letter to the Court – indicative of serious mental illnesses
SENTENCE – sequence 1 – early plea – 25% discount – expressed real remorse and contrition – good prospects of rehabilitation – medium low risk of reoffending – threshold not crossed – exceptional case – CCO – sequence 2 – threshold not crossed – CCO

Legislation Cited:
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 79, 91H(2), 547E(2)
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW): ss 5, 67(1)(b)

Cases Cited:
R v Chesworth [2023] NSWCCA 115
R v De Leeuw [2015] NSWCCA 183
R v Ebejer [2020] NSWDC 473
R v…

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 Cridland

Details

AGLC: R v Cridland [2024] NSWDC 408
Case: [2024] NSWDC 408
Decision Date: 09 August 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter of R v Cridland involved the defendant, Cridland, who was found guilty of possessing child abuse material and bestiality material. The case was heard in the Local Court of New South Wales, where Cridland pleaded guilty to both charges. The court was required to decide the appropriate sentence for each offence, taking into account the severity of the crimes, the defendant's personal circumstances, and the impact on the community. The legal issues included determining the objective seriousness of each offence, the subjective factors pertaining to the defendant, and the applicability of any discounts for early pleas and expressions of remorse.

The court considered the objective seriousness of the offences, noting that both involved the possession of illegal material, with the child abuse material depicting real children and the bestiality material involving real adults and children engaging in sexual acts with animals. The court acknowledged the profound damage such material can cause to the victims and the community, despite the defendant not intentionally seeking out the content. The court also took into account the defendant's personal circumstances, including his social isolation, history of abuse, mental health conditions, and dependency on painkiller medication. These factors contributed to the defendant's offending behaviour, which the court viewed as a maladaptive coping mechanism. The court found that Cridland's early plea and expressions of remorse warranted a discount, and that he had good prospects of rehabilitation with a medium low risk of reoffending.

The court sentenced Cridland to a Community Corrections Order (CCO) for three years for the possession of child abuse material and a CCO for eighteen months for the possession of bestiality material. The court concluded that the threshold for imprisonment had not been crossed in either case, and that a CCO was the appropriate sentence given the circumstances. The court ordered that Cridland be convicted on both charges and that he serve the respective CCOs.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. Offender is convicted.

2. For sequence 1, offender sentenced to a CCO for 3 years.

3. For sequence 2, offender sentenced to a CCO for 18 months.

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 Cridland [2024] NSWDC 408
Hearing dates:	25 July 2024
Date of orders:	9 August 2024
Decision date:	09 August 2024
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Tupman DCJ
Decision:	1. Offender is convicted. 2. For sequence 1, offender sentenced to a CCO for 3 years. 3. For sequence 2, offender sentenced to a CCO for 18 months.
Catchwords:	CRIME – sentence – two offences – possess child abuse material – s91H(2) Crimes Act 1900 – maximum penalty 10 years imprisonment – possess bestiality material – s547E(2) Crimes Act 1900 – maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment EAGP SCHEME – delayed 1 year in Local Court – 11 mentions before committal – pleas of guilty inevitable – waste of court resources OFFENCE – NSW Police Child Exploitation Unit – discovered downloads by offender of CAM over 5 days in March 2023 – search warrant – devices seized and examined – CAM found – offender arrested April 2023 – 213 images and videos category 1 – 315 images and videos category 2 – 17 images and videos bestiality material OBJECTIVE SERIOUSNESS – sequence 1 – lower range – not victimless crimes – real children depicted – damage done to children is profound – fuels fantasies of child sexual assault offenders – short period of time – possession in circumstances where CAM embedded in enormous volumes of downloaded electronic material – majority was legal pornography, movies and television shows – offender viewed the material – did not intentionally seek out – sequence 2 – below mid-range – new offence – involved real adults and children engaging in sexual acts with animals – downloaded in similar way SUBJECTIVE FACTORS – aged 39 – no criminal record – intelligent with tertiary qualifications – never had an intimate relationship – lives in state of social isolation – experienced emotional and physical abuse from father – depression and anxiety – receipt of psychiatric and psychological care – severe obesity requiring sleeve gastrectomy – suffered severe back injury – developed dependence on painkiller medication – dulled ability to make proper judgements – financially and emotionally supported by mother since arrest – diagnosed with multiple psychiatric conditions – offending arose in context of offender’s social isolation – maladaptive method of coping with conditions – began downloading large amounts of material during COVID – form of digital hoarding – relieved anxiety and form of distraction – apology letter to the Court – indicative of serious mental illnesses SENTENCE – sequence 1 – early plea – 25% discount – expressed real remorse and contrition – good prospects of rehabilitation – medium low risk of reoffending – threshold not crossed – exceptional case – CCO – sequence 2 – threshold not crossed – CCO
Legislation Cited:	Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 79, 91H(2), 547E(2) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW): ss 5, 67(1)(b)
Cases Cited:	R v Chesworth [2023] NSWCCA 115 R v De Leeuw [2015] NSWCCA 183 R v Ebejer [2020] NSWDC 473 R v…