R v EH

The case before the court was an appeal against sentence by the applicant, who had pleaded guilty to several counts of sexual offences against children. The applicant was convicted of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child under 16 years, two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 years, and six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 years. The court had to decide whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive. The applicant was sentenced to seven years and nine months imprisonment, with eligibility for parole after three years.

The legal issues before the court were whether the sentence was manifestly excessive and whether there were grounds for interference in the sentence. The court considered the nature and circumstances of the offences, the age of the victims, and the absence of any previous criminal history by the applicant. The court also considered the impact of the offences on the victims, as demonstrated in their victim impact statements.

The court found that the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive and that there were grounds for interference. The court took into account the fact that the applicant had no criminal history and did not use violence in the commission of the offences. The court also noted that the offending, with the exception of the procuring of sodomy, was at the lower end of the scale. The court substituted the sentence imposed at first instance with a sentence of six months imprisonment on count 7 on Indictment 4428/07, two years imprisonment on counts 1-6 and 8 on Indictment 4428/07, six years and nine months imprisonment on the maintaining count on Indictment 4429/07, and fixed the parole eligibility date at 20 December 2008.