R v Francis

[2020] NSWDC 870

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Francis [2020] NSWDC 870

Hearing dates:

4 December 2020

Date of orders:

4 December 2020

Decision date:

04 December 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

ML Williams SC DCJ

Decision:

Pursuant to section 8(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, I order the offender to comply with a community corrections order for a period of 2 years commencing today: [67].

Catchwords:

SENTENCING — Penalties — Community Corrections Order

SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Rehabilitation — Remorse — Unlikely to re-offend

SENTENCING — Relevant factors on sentence — Delay — Deterrence — Factual basis for sentence — General principles — Objective seriousness — Purposes of sentencing — Sentencing statistics

SENTENCING — Subjective considerations on sentence — Mental illness — Hardship

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

Cases Cited:

Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) v Burton [2020] NSWCCA 54

Greenwood v R [2014] NSWCCA 64

R v HJS [2020] NSWDC 480

R v JS (unreported, NSWDC, Yehia DCJ, 5 April 2019)

R v Russell (unreported, NSWDC, Marien ADCJ, 15 March 2019)

R v Stacy (unreported, NSWDC, Ellis DCJ, 30 August 2019)

R v Thomas [2007] NSWCCA 269

R v Tuala [2015] NSWCCA 8

Texts Cited:

Nil

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Regina (Crown)

Roger Francis (Offender)

Representation:

Mr D Coulton (Solicitor for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions)

Mr J Sabharwal (Counsel for the offender)

File Number(s):

2019/215161

Publication restriction:

STATUTORY NON-PUBLICATION APPLIES in relation to any matter which may identify the victim, pursuant to s 578A of the Crimes Act 1900

Judgment

1. Roger Francis, aged 57, appears for sentence having been found guilty by a jury of one count contrary to s 61I of the Crimes Act 1900, of sexual intercourse without consent, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment with a standard non-parole period of seven years. He has served one day in custody following his arrest on 11 July 2019.

2. The maximum penalty and the standard non-parole period are yardsticks in the sentencing process which must take account of the purposes of sentencing set out in s 3A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

3. The agreed facts, consistent with the jury’s verdict, are that the offender and the victim became acquainted through a running group called the Capital Hash House Harriers. Members of that group have nicknames. It is unnecessary to deal with those. The victim said in evidence at the trial that she first became acquainted with a running group called Hash House Harriers while she was travelling in Europe. When she returned to Australia about 22 years ago, she joined the Capital Hash House Harriers group. There is no evidence as to the victim’s age that I am aware of, but I assume that she is in her 40s.

4. On Saturday 2 December 2017, the victim and the offender, along with other members of the group, went to Batemans Bay to participate in an organised run. A…