R v Naqvi

[2016] ACTSC 345

SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Case Title:

R v Naqvi

Citation:

[2016] ACTSC 345

Hearing Date:

25 October 2016

DecisionDate:

8 November 2016

Before:

Burns J

Decision:

See [56]-[62]

Catchwords:

CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Judgment and Punishment – Sentence – offences against the person – forcible confinement – recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm – sexual offences – sexual intercourse without consent – pleas of guilty – terms of imprisonment.

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) ss 23, 34, 54(1)

Parties:

The Queen (Crown)

Syed Naqvi (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel

Ms S McMurray (Crown)

Mr J Sabharwal (Offender)

Solicitors

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)

Legal on London (Offender)

File Number:

SCC 174 of 2015

BURNS J:

1. Syed Hassan Naqvi, you have pleaded guilty to one offence of forcible confinement, one offence of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm and four offences of sexual assault without consent. It is my responsibility to sentence you for these offences.

1. The maximum penalty for forcibly confining a person, contrary to s 34 of the Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) (the Crimes Act) is 10 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty for recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm, contrary to s 23 of the Crimes Act is 5 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty for engaging in sexual intercourse without consent, contrary to s 54(1) of the Crimes Act is 12 years imprisonment.

1. The complainant in these matters is an Indonesian citizen. She and her husband came to Australia in September 2013 so that her husband could study cookery. Her husband commenced the cookery course but discontinued study after three days. The couple had incurred significant debts in coming to Australia for the complainant's husband to undertake the course and, accordingly, they came to Canberra in order to find work to pay off their debts. In Canberra they commenced work as cleaners. In the course of her duties as a cleaner the complainant came into contact with you. A relationship developed during which the complainant told you that she was illegally in Australia because her visa had been cancelled.

1. On about 26 January 2015, the complainant decided that she would move in with you. You convinced her to leave her job as a cleaner saying that you would find her other employment. After about four days the complainant became disenchanted with your treatment of her and you threatened that you would chop off her head. You also mentioned that you had sharp objects in the car. The complainant became fearful of you.

1. On a Tuesday in early February 2015, the complainant made arrangements to leave you without your knowledge by telephoning her husband who picked her up from outside your house. She was concerned that you would find her if she returned to her former residence and she was able to find other accommodation through her employer. Later that day you went to her former residence looking for her, describing her as your wife. The complainant's husband was present, together with a number of other people. They told you that they did not know where the complainant was and that she had left a week ago. You remained at the house for about an hour and in the days following you watched the house, occasionally asking for the complainant. After about a week the complainant returned to her former work.

1. On or about 17 February 2015, the complainant received an electronic message from you while she was working in which you reassured her that it was okay for her to leave you. She messaged back saying that she did not want to see you. You parked your car outside the premises where the complainant was working. She approached your car and you told her to get into the car. She said that she did not want to but you grabbed her by the arm and insisted that she get into the car which she did. You then drove off. You stopped the car in a quiet area and took her mobile phone. You grabbed at her face and pushed and slapped her. You took her to a police station and told her to show them a happy face and to tell police that she was happy with you should her husband or her employer come looking for you. You then made the complainant telephone her employer to say that she was happy with you.

1. Her husband then telephoned her and asked her where she was. She told him not to call her again and put the phone down. He then received an SMS in English, clearly from you, telling him not to disturb you because the complainant was happy with you and threatening to report him to the police. The complainant's husband then telephoned the complainant again and they spoke in Indonesian. He noted that she was not speaking as she normally did. She said that she was being watched and that you had her mobile phone.

1. At your house you made the complainant get a knife from the kitchen and carve your name into her arm. She cut the letters “SAB” into her arm. That is the basis of Count 2 on the indictment, the charge of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm.

1. You changed the pin on the complainant's phone and kept control of it, handing it to her when her family members called but telling her what to say to them. You made the complainant cook and clean for you. You made her say, "Yes, honey" to any demands that you made of her. You made the complainant engage in sexual intercourse with you repeatedly and also massage you. You also made the complainant accompany you everywhere outside the house, to do what you told her to do and pay for things that you purchased. You took money from her and eventually took control of her money, purse and key cards. At times you slapped her, pinched her cheeks and said things to her like, "The king remains king".  You told her that she had to be polite to you and that she had to obey you, saying, "If you don't obey me I will cut off your legs and you will feel the pain every single day". You told the complainant that you did those things to her because you loved her.

1. I will now turn to one of the charges of sexual intercourse without consent being Count 3 on the indictment. You took the complainant back to your house and started kissing her. You took off her clothes and removed your own clothing before putting your erect penis into her mouth. The complainant had difficulty breathing and her throat hurt. You took your penis out of her mouth and positioned the complainant on top of you before placing your penis into her vagina. The complainant thought that you ejaculated but you continued to have sex with her telling her, "fuck, fuck, fuck hard".  You moved on top of her and appeared to ejaculate a second time. You continued to thrust your penis inside her vagina. The complainant said that she was in pain and did not want to continue but you nevertheless did continue.

1. The following day you went out shopping with the complainant for food and clothes which the complainant had to pay for by withdrawing money from her husband's account. She asked you why you used her money and you told her she was not allowed to have it for herself. Later the complainant went to bed and you followed her. You told her that she had to do whatever you said. You pinched and slapped her, grabbed her jaw and head butted her several times. You told the complainant that if she argued with you, you would give her pain. Unsurprisingly, she was fearful that you were going to kill her. She apologised and said that she would obey you.

1. Later you asked her what had happened to her face, being a reference to the red marks where you had hit her. You became very loving towards the complainant and said that your reason for doing what you did was because you wanted to be with her. You then began kissing her. She did not respond but was fearful that you would become violent. You then took off her clothes and put your erect penis into her mouth. You grabbed her hair and violently moved her head up and down your penis until you ejaculated. You said, "Drink it. Swallow it".  You then took your penis out of her mouth and placed her on top of you. You put your penis into her vagina and struck at her breasts and you appeared to ejaculate again. You then placed yourself on top of the complainant and put your penis inside her vagina while holding onto her legs. While having sex with the complainant you bit her on the body. Eventually you stopped and the complainant ran out and went to the toilet. When she returned she saw that it was about 5.00 am.

1. Your forcible confinement of the complainant then continued. Later that day at about 12.00 pm you told the complainant that she had to prepare your breakfast which she did. You took her to work with you and made her stay in the car. You and she then returned to your house in the early hours of the following morning.

1. The complainant's sister then texted her and you would not believe the complainant when she said that her sister was in Indonesia. You took the complainant out of the house and for a drive. While in the car you told her that because she was illegally in Australia it would be easy to kill her. You said that you would cut off her legs, go to Darwin and throw her into the water. You said, "Before I do anything I will tell you, if I'm going to kill you, I will tell you first".

1. The following day the complainant again accompanied you to your work. Once you returned home you began drinking and smoking cannabis. You and the complainant then went to bed. You started kissing her and bit her on the shoulder. You then took off her clothes and indicated that she had to take your clothes off. You bit her on the nipple, squeezed her breasts harshly and dug your nails into her breasts. You placed her on top of you and made her put your penis into her vagina. You encouraged her to move saying, "fuck, fuck, fuck" until you ejaculated.

1. Despite ejaculating you continued to engage in sexual intercourse with her. You then entered the complainant's vagina from behind her and slapped her buttocks while engaging in sexual intercourse. You withdrew your penis, got off the bed and put your penis into her mouth. You grabbed her by the head and shook her head while your penis was in her mouth. The complainant found it hard to breath and began to cry. You then took your penis out of her mouth and put it inside of her vagina. You said to her, "I want you licking my arse... I want to feel as if I'm flying, you've got to kiss me all over my body".  You kissed the complainant all over her body and she licked you over your body. These events are the basis of the charge of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 4 on the indictment.

1. The following day you again engaged in sexual intercourse with the complainant, starting by putting your penis inside her mouth. You then put your penis inside her anus which caused the complainant to scream out in pain and you put your hand over her mouth. You then changed position, placing the complainant on top of you and you put your penis inside her vagina. You slapped her face saying, "fuck harder". You then ejaculated but continued to engage in sexual intercourse with her.

1. You also bit the complainant on the chest. You then took your penis out of the complainant's vagina and put it into her mouth forcing your penis so far into her mouth that she vomited. You continued until you ejaculated and told her to swallow. These events are the basis of the charge of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 5 on the indictment. You then took the complainant to an ATM, telling her to withdraw money for you. She withdrew $900.00 and gave it to you. You drove her to Fyshwick and stopped at a sex shop where you went inside and purchased a vibrator. You then drove to another store and told the complainant to purchase a pregnancy kit and some perfume which she did. You returned to your home and you showed the complainant how to operate the vibrator and told her to insert it into your anus. While she did that you told her to take hold of your penis and shake it.

1. You then made the complainant insert your penis into her mouth so that she could use one hand to hold your testicles and the other to hold the vibrator. You then got the complainant to move on top of you and insert your penis into her vagina. You had the complainant move up and down until you ejaculated but you continued to engage in sexual intercourse with her, slapping her cheeks and bottom, grabbing roughly at her breasts and saying to her to “fuck hard”.

1. The complainant told you she was too tired. You told her to use her mouth and you withdrew your penis from her vagina and inserted it into her mouth. You grabbed her head, pushing and pulling her head until you ejaculated. You made the complainant insert the vibrator into your anus again and then you inserted your penis into her vagina. The complainant told you to stop but you just laughed. Eventually she pushed you away, went into the bathroom and washed herself. These events are the basis of the charge of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 6 on the indictment.

1. On or about 25 February 2015 the complainant woke late. Scared that you would be angry with her she got up quickly and began cooking and cleaning. You grabbed her and you expressed anger at her for wearing shorts around the house. You grabbed her by the throat and slapped her repeatedly. During the day you told her that you wanted to see lots of blood and talked about getting a sharp knife and writing your name, ”Qasim”, on her arm.

1. At about 2.30 pm you had to go to your workplace and speak to your manager. While you were inside the shop the complainant was in the car. She asked a passerby, a Ms Colleen Clark, for help. Ms Clark rang the police and took the complainant into her office. I commend Ms Clark for her actions in assisting the victim.

1. The complainant was medically examined on 2 March 2015 at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Numerous injuries were observed on her body consistent with the history of sexual assault that she gave. The examining doctor said, "The overall pattern of injury is that of multiple applications of blunt force trauma including sexual organs, vulva and breasts".

Objective seriousness

1. I have referred to the facts of these offences in some detail because in assessing the objective seriousness of each offence it is important to acknowledge the depths of your depravity and the degradation you inflicted upon your victim. You did not simply satisfy your sexual desires but you engaged in an intentional and systematic process of sexual degradation of your victim which speaks of a desire beyond the merely sexual, a desire to exercise power over her. Your actions speak of a need to feel powerful by the subjugation and degradation of another human being.

1. In assessing the objective seriousness of the offence of unlawful confinement I take into account the period of time during which the confinement occurred. In this case it was about one week. I also take into account the fact that during that confinement you largely controlled the complainant, forcing her to cook and clean for you, to give you money and to buy you things. You also threatened to inflict serious injury on her.

1. I make it clear that in sentencing you for the offence of unlawful confinement I do not take into account the sexual offences which you committed or those acts which form the basis of the charge of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm. I would assess the objective seriousness of the offence of unlawful confinement as at the upper end of the middle range of such offences. I would assess the offence of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm as in the middle range of such offences.

1. Each of the charges of sexual intercourse without consent were what is referred to as rolled up charges. This means that each count involved a number of transactions which could have been the subject of separate charges. Each count, without your consent to the charge proceeding in the way in which it did, would have been open to criticism that it was duplicitous. It has long been accepted that the use of rolled up charges by the Crown is a matter of considerable advantage to an offender as it restricts the maximum available sentence to that prescribed by the legislation for the single offence rather than the total theoretically available maximum sentence for multiple charges.

1. Each of the offences of sexual intercourse without consent are particularly serious examples of this type of offending. I have determined that Count 3 is the most serious of the offences because it involved multiple instances of penile‑vaginal intercourse, multiple instances of oral intercourse and multiple acts of ejaculation. In addition, the complainant complained of pain inflicted by your actions which you ignored. This offence also involved significant physical violence beyond that which is inherent in the offence itself. I would regard this offence as in the upper range of such offences.

1. With respect to the remaining offences of sexual intercourse without consent, I would assess them as being in the upper end of the middle range of such offences. With respect to all of the offences of sexual intercourse without consent, I take into account the fact that you did not use a condom, thereby exposing the victim to the possibility of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

Subjective features

1. You were arrested on 8 April 2015 and charged with a number of offences including the present offences. You entered pleas of not guilty to all charges on 5 May 2015 in the Magistrates Court and on 7 July 2015 you were committed for trial to this Court. Your trial was listed to commence on 5 April this year, based upon an indictment dated 4 April 2016 containing the present charges. This indictment replaced an earlier indictment dated 18 August 2015 containing 23 charges. On 4 April 2016, you entered pleas of guilty to the charges on the indictment of the same date. Your pleas cannot be described as early.

1. I do acknowledge that your pleas had significant utilitarian value and, in particular, they relieved the complainant of the need to give evidence of these matters at your trial. Despite your very late pleas, I will reduce the otherwise appropriate sentences by 10 per cent in the light of the utilitarian value of the pleas. Having said that, I do not accept that your pleas evidence any significant remorse, for reasons that I will come to in a moment.

1. You do not have a significant criminal history which will ordinarily entitle you to a degree of leniency in the present proceedings but little weight can be given to that fact when viewed against the objective seriousness of these offences.

1. A Pre-Sentence Report was prepared for the sentence hearing. You are 26 years old and one of seven children born and raised in Pakistan. You described a traumatic childhood, stating that you and your family were persecuted for your religious beliefs. You claim to have been the subject of physical and sexual abuse from the age of six and as a result you claim that you were removed from mainstream education and home schooled.

1. At age 20 you immigrated to Australia on a temporary work visa. You further reported being affected by the trauma of the murder of your uncle and cousin and the death of your mother in 2013. The Report notes that you are not currently in a relationship and do not have any children. You said that with the exception of your sister you have no contact with your immediate or extended family members since being remanded in custody due to the nature of your current offending. The Report notes that the claims that you made in relation to your family and childhood experiences were unable to be verified. For reasons which I will give later, I am not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the history which you gave to the author of the Pre-Sentence Report is accurate.

1. You made an application for an asylum visa in 2015 but this application was refused. At the time of these offences, as I understand it, you were in Australia unlawfully. You told the author of the Report that you could not recall where you were residing in the months prior to these charges and you did not recall where you were employed at the time that these offences occurred. You said that you believed that you were employed as a cleaner.

1. You told the author of the Report that you began consuming alcohol to the point of intoxication at age 20. You said that your consumption became problematic after your mother passed away in 2013 when you began to consume approximately one litre of spirits a day. You claimed that you maintained that level of consumption until your incarceration. You also advised that you used cannabis on a daily basis from age 20 until you were incarcerated. I accept that you were a user of cannabis at the time of these offences as there is reference to you using cannabis in the Agreed Statement of Facts. I am not satisfied however, that you were consuming alcohol to the extent that you claimed at the time that these offences occurred.

1. There is nothing in the Statement of Facts to suggest that you purchased or consumed large quantities of alcohol during the course of these offences. There is nothing to suggest that you were highly intoxicated at the time of these offences. You were able to maintain employment during the period of these offences and, indeed, during the period when you suggest that you were consuming one litre of spirits a day. I find all of that very unlikely.

1. You told the author of the Report that you had been diagnosed with mental health conditions in the past and you continued to suffer from anxiety and depression. At the time of preparation of the Report you were prescribed an antidepressant. A referral letter from ACT Health dated 4 May 2016 stated:

Mr Naqvi is currently not presenting with active thoughts of self harm or suicidal ideation. Last psychiatric review was conducted by Dr Wyeth and Mr Naqvi was considered to have not significant mental illness; however was assessed as having Cluster B Personality Traits. Depressive Anxiety Stress Scale scores appeared inflated and were considered spurious as Mr Naqvi was not paying any attention to what he was doing. He did not appear pervasively depressed. He reported his mood at the time as “anxious and flat” but his affect was reactive and responsive incongruent with stated mood.

1. You told the author of the Report that you did not recall the time period during which these offences occurred. You claimed that you did not recall ever meeting the victim and consequently you were unable to demonstrate any victim empathy. You did not accept any responsibility for the offences. You stated that you did not understand why you were remanded in custody and you had only chosen to plead guilty on advice from your legal representative. You told the author of the Report that you would be at risk of self-harm or suicide should you be sentenced to further custody or be subject to deportation.

1. A risk assessment tool administered at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), which did not take into account your attitude towards your offending behaviour, resulted in you being classified as at moderate to low risk of further sexual offending. In my opinion, bearing in mind your attitude to these offences, that assessment is not reliable.

1. The Report notes that your behaviour in custody was initially non-compliant, however, you were not subject to any formal discipline. Over the last 12 months your compliance has been satisfactory. You have completed a number of programs in custody but you told the author of the Report that you could not remember what programs you had completed or what you had learnt in them apart from a program dealing with self-care. You were assessed as at medium to high risk of general reoffending based upon your lack of pro-social supports, your financial circumstances, your lack of appropriate pro-social activity, your use of alcohol and drugs, your mental health and your attitudes.

1. A Forensic Mental Health Assessment was carried out at the AMC by Dr George, a consultant psychiatrist, on 22 July 2016 and a Report of the same date was tendered at the sentence hearing. You presented as being quite guarded and defensive during the course of the interview, often not providing answers to simple questions requiring personal details and at other times indicating that you could not remember basic information with respect to your history. You did not exhibit any abnormal movements, mannerisms or motor tics.

1. Your speech was normal in tone and volume and there was no speech impediments. You did not exhibit any formal thought disorder. Your mood was described as somewhat sombre but you did not necessarily appear pervasively depressed. You did not appear to be responding to any perceptual phenomena during the course of the interview. You claimed, on questioning, that you believe that you heard voices saying that people would kill you and that you believed that others could read your thoughts. Dr George said:

Of interest is the fact that he said he had no knowledge of why he was in gaol. He denied any knowledge of charges against him. When asked about this aspect of his current presentation he said, "I can't remember."  However, other aspects of his memory did not appear to be impaired in that he could provide some history which depended on short-term memory. For example, he was able to indicate what medication he had been prescribed, currently, whilst in custody. This information tended to indicate, in general, that there was no impairment in either short-term or long-term memory. There was no evidence of any general cognitive deterioration.

Because of the answers that he provided, it was difficult to assess his insight. Alternatively, his judgment could not be assessed either.

1. You gave Dr George a history of being born in Pakistan and having come to Australia on a study visa. You claimed to have completed a course which extended over 10 months, despite your limited prior education. You said that your prior childhood education had been cut short due to the fact that you were sexually abused. You said that you were sexually abused between the ages of four and 14 and you implicated the Taliban in both your physical and sexual abuse. You said that you were Shia and subject to abuse as a result.

1. You claim to have no knowledge of why you were in prison. You said that you suffered from anxiety and depression and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. You said that you were sleeping poorly and that you had lost weight. You said your concentration was poor. You told Dr George that you believed your mother had suffered dementia and schizophrenia. You claim to have come from a very poor family in which you would often beg for money outside a mosque. I will set out Dr George's summary and opinion at length, although not entirely in full:

Mr Naqvi is a 26-year-old man who presents for psychiatric assessment in the context of a request by the Court for a Forensic Mental Health Report. Mr Naqvi presented in a guarded and defensive manner and answered many questions by responding, "I cannot remember". 

Although Mr Naqvi reported “voices” and also had a belief that, when he was in a shopping mall, walking past people, he believed that they may talk about him, in general, he did not report any other psychotic symptoms. He did not have any formal thought disorder. He did not exhibit any incongruity or inappropriateness of affect. While alleging that he had problems with memory, he did provide details suggesting that both short-term and long-term memory were intact.

In essence, Mr Naqvi does not present as a valid historian. If further confirmation of this was required, then he could undergo Forensic Psychological Testing. A Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) would demonstrate whether he did, indeed, have any valid impairment of memory. However, in the circumstances, unless confirmation was required by the Court, I do not believe that Forensic Psychological Testing is indicated.

Given the nature of the charges and information presented in the Statement of Facts Mr Naqvi presents as a person, demonstrating antisocial, borderline and narcissistic personality traits. Whether or not he has been subject to sexual and physical abuse, would be open to question in view of the fact that he does not present as a valid historian.

My general conclusion is that Mr Naqvi does not suffer a mental illness or mental impairment. Whether or not he suffers PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) could only be commented on after the above testing occurred. He did not volunteer any symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression on the day of assessment. In order for him to have any form of psychiatric and psychological intervention for any condition, he would have to be motivated to seek support and treatment.

1. A testimonial from Kazim Raza, your brother-in-law, was tendered at the sentence hearing. Mr Raza is the husband of your older sister. He has known you for almost 10 years. He said that your mother died when you were about 16 years old and your sister took care of you. He has always known you as a very honest and nice person. You never used to smoke, drink or take drugs. In Pakistan you said alcohol was not allowed but when you came to Australia you were exposed to influences to which you had not been exposed in Pakistan.

1. Mr Raza said that when you came to Australia your father paid for your visa fees, tuition and accommodation, however, after three years the relationship between your father and yourself deteriorated because of your lifestyle. At that point your father stopped paying for your expenses. Whilst your father, "is concerned about his reputation" Mr Raza said, he is constantly asking Mr Raza about you because he still cares for you and wants to know what you are doing.

1. Mr Raza expressed the view that you feel ashamed about what has happened and as a result you do not want to speak to your father. Mr Raza said that your family is ashamed of your lifestyle in Australia and has stopped speaking to you.

Consideration

1. As I indicated earlier, I do not accept the accuracy of the history that you gave to the author of the Pre-Sentence Report and nor do I accept the accuracy of the history you gave to Dr George. It is very clear that you are feigning a lack of memory about the events surrounding these offences and you have attempted to mislead both the author of the Pre-Sentence Report and Dr George on that issue. Your reason for doing so can remain only a matter of speculation. It may perhaps be an attempt by yourself to reduce or minimise your moral culpability for your present offending. On the other hand, it may be an attempt by you to suggest to your family members that you are not responsible for what you did. It is significant, in the light of the extreme deprivation you claim you suffered in your childhood, that there is no mention of this in the letter from your brother-in-law. The fact that your father paid for your expenses while you were in Australia for you to stay suggests that he was providing support for you in Pakistan.

1. I give some weight to the opinion expressed by Mr Raza that you are ashamed for what you have done but I am also satisfied that you have feigned lack of memory with respect to these offences. By doing so you have demonstrated a lack of genuine remorse for your offending.

1. It is difficult to assess your prospects for rehabilitation. Your lack of relevant prior criminal history would suggest that your prospects are reasonable but your failure to fully accept responsibility for your actions suggests otherwise. It is likely that you will be deported when you are released from custody which may lead to reconciliation with your family, thereby enhancing your prospects for rehabilitation. I note that in this country you have very few supports and it is unlikely that if you remain in Australia that you will have any family support in the years to come.

1. Finally, I take into account the victim impact statement prepared by the victim. She continues to blame herself for what occurred and she feels guilty and ashamed. Because of her culture and religion she feels that she is now perceived as a cheap woman who entered into a relationship which was wrong and sinful. This has greatly affected her relationship with her parents. It is also very clear that it has significantly affected her life generally and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. As a Muslim you must have been aware of the likely effect that your offending would have upon your victim within her religion and her culture. Your victim was vulnerable because of her immigration status, a fact which you knew and took advantage of.

1. While you are still a relatively young man, the predominant sentencing considerations for these offences must be punishment and deterrence. Both general and specific deterrence are relevant in the circumstances of this case. Lengthy sentences of imprisonment are required in order to appropriately punish you for these offences, to deter you from committing such offences in the future and to deter others who may be minded to prey upon the vulnerable in order to satisfy their own warped desires.

1. You have expressed the possibility of self-harm if you are sentenced to a further term of imprisonment but I do not give this significant weight. I am satisfied that this is simply an attempt by you to place pressure on this Court to impose a lenient sentence. That tactic will not work.

1. I take into account the requirements of totality in sentencing you for multiple offences. I will allow significant concurrency between the sentences which I impose but inevitably a degree of accumulation is also appropriate.

Sentence

1. For the offence of unlawful confinement, Count 1 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment commencing on 8 April 2015 and expiring on 7 December 2019.

1. For the offence of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 3 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to 7 years and 10 months imprisonment commencing on 8 February 2016 and expiring on 7 December 2023.

1. For the offence of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 4 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment commencing on 8 February 2020 and expiring on 7 June 2025.

1. For the offence of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 5 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment commencing on 8 August 2021 and expiring on 7 December 2026.

1. For the offence of sexual intercourse without consent, Count 6 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment commencing on 8 February 2023 and expiring on 7 June 2028.

1. For the offence of recklessly inflicting actual bodily harm, Count 2 on the indictment, I record a conviction and you are sentenced to one year and nine months imprisonment commencing on 8 March 2027 and expiring on 7 December 2028.

1. The aggregate sentence which I have imposed is therefore one of 13 years and 8 months imprisonment which I consider appropriate for the overall criminality involved in these offences. I set a non-parole period of eight years and two months commencing on 8 April 2015 and expiring on 7 June 2023.

I certify that the preceding sixty-two [62] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Sentence of his Honour Justice Burns.

Associate:

Date: 25 November 2016