R v GQ

[2005] QCA 53

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

R v GQ [2005] QCA 53

PARTIES:

R

v
GQ
(applicant)

FILE NO/S:

CA No 430 of 2004
DC No 1073 of 2004

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Sentence Application

ORIGINATING COURT:

District Court at Brisbane

DELIVERED EX TEMPORE ON:

4 March 2005

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

4 March 2005

JUDGES:

McPherson JA, White and Douglas JJ
Separate reasons for judgment of each member of the Court, each concurring as to the order made

ORDER:

Application for leave to appeal dismissed 

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL AND INQUIRY AFTER CONVICTION – APPEAL AND NEW TRIAL – APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE – APPEAL BY CONVICTED PERSONS – APPLICATION TO REDUCE SENTENCE – WHEN REFUSED – PARTICULAR OFFENCES – OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON – SEXUAL OFFENCES – maintaining relationship with child under 16 for 6 years – protracted unprotected intercourse –provision of alcohol to victim – where voluntary confession in circumstances where no official complaint made – where reason to believe complaint might have been made or might be made in the future – whether confession sufficient mitigating feature

ABv R (1999) 198 CLR 111, cited
R v C; ex parte A-G [2003] QCA 134; CA No 400 of 2002, 24 March 2003, cited

R v S [2001] QCA 54; CA No 238 of 2000, 21 February 2001, distinguished

COUNSEL:

D Shepherd for the applicant

D L Meredith for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Legal Aid Queensland for the applicant
Director of Public Prosecutions (Queensland) for the respondent

WHITE J:  The applicant pleaded guilty on the 19th of October 2004 to maintaining a sexual relationship with circumstances of aggravation, those aggravating features being rape and unlawful carnal knowledge in the period of the relationship, between the 1st of January 1994 and the 6th of April 2000.  He also pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent dealing with a child under the age of 12, two counts of rape, the second of which occurred when the girl was then 16, and one count of indecent assault when she was also 16.

He was sentenced on the 3rd of December 2004 in the District Court.  A head sentence of 10 years' imprisonment was imposed in respect of the maintaining charge.  He was also sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the indecent dealing charges, eight years' imprisonment for the rapes and three years' imprisonment for the indecent assault, all of those terms of imprisonment to be served concurrently.

As a consequence of the 10 year sentence imposed for the maintaining offence an automatic serious violent offence declaration was made.

The applicant was born on the 26th of January 1970.  He was therefore 34 at the time of sentence and aged between 23 and 30 years over the period of the offending conduct.  The child was aged between 10 and 16 years when the offences occurred.  She was the applicant's wife's sister's daughter, that is his wife's niece.

The complaint is that the head sentence of…