R v Hageman

[2025] NSWDC 352

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Hageman [2025] NSWDC 352

Hearing dates:

8/4/25-17/4/25, 18/7/25

Date of orders:

18/7/25

Decision date:

18 July 2025

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Bourke SC DCJ

Decision:

Convicted and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 5 years 10 months with NPP 3 years 6 months (16/4/25-15/10/28).

I find special circumstances.

The indicatives are:

Count 1 – 5 years

Count 2 – 2 years

Count 3 – 2 years 1 month

Catchwords:

Crime – Sentence – Cause person to take intoxicating substance with the intention of enabling him to commit the indictable offence of sexual touching without consent – Sexual touching without consent

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

Cases Cited:

Houshyar v R [2022] NSWCCA 245

Irmak v R; Dagdanasar v R [2021] NSWCCA 178

R v Song [2022] NSWDC 100

R v Wilkinson (No. 5) [2009] NSWSC 432

Sharma v R [2022] NSWCCA 190

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

NSW DPP – Crown
Paul Hageman - Offender

Representation:

Ms E Winborne for Crown
Mr H McDuff for Offender

File Number(s):

23/48249

Publication restriction:

Statutory non-publication of the identity of the victim.

REMARKS ON SENTENCE

1. Mr Paul Hageman was the subject of a trial that was heard in April this year before myself and a jury, and on 7 April 2025, the jury found him guilty of all three counts on the indictment. Those three counts for which he must be sentenced are as follows. Count one being an offence of causing a person to take an intoxicating substance, namely methylamphetamine and/or amphetamine with the intention of enabling him to commit the indictable offence of sexual touching without consent. That is an offence under s 38(b) of the Crimes Act 1900 and carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment.

2. Count 2 and 3 are both counts of an offence under s 61KC(a) of the Crimes Act which are offences of sexually touching another person without consent and carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

3. The maximum penalties for each of the offences are important guideposts in the sentencing exercise and I have had regard to them for that purpose.

FACTS

4. The facts of the offences are for me to determine based on the evidence at trial. The facts that I find, of course, must be consistent with the jury’s verdicts. Any matters in aggravation must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, whilst matters in mitigation need only be proved on the balance of probabilities.

5. The facts of the offences based on the evidence given at trial have been summarised into a document prepared by the Crown which is entitled “Factual Summary After Trial,” which in large part, has been accepted on behalf of the offender as being an accurate representation of the evidence. I note, of course, that the offender maintains his innocence.

6. The facts that I find based on my examination of the document to which I have just referred and also the evidence given in the…