R v Scott

[2022] NSWDC 663

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Scott [2022] NSWDC 663

Hearing dates:

28/6/22-7/7/22, 14/7/22, 30/9/22, 21/10/22

Date of orders:

21/10/22

Decision date:

21 October 2022

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Bourke SC DCJ

Decision:

Convicted and sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of 1 year 10 months (12/2/21-11/12/22).

I note that the offender is currently serving an existing head sentence for other offences, which expires on 12/3/27. Whether or not the offender is release to parole on 11/12/22 will be a matter for the State Parole Authority to determine.

Catchwords:

Crime – Sentence – Male teacher have homosexual intercourse with male pupil aged between 10 and 18

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

Cases Cited:

R v Obbens [2022] NSWCCA 109

R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

NSW DPP – Crown
Peter Wayne Scott - Offender

Representation:

Mr J Mehta for Crown
Mr Z Khan for Offender

File Number(s):

20/341820

Publication restriction:

Non-publication order in relation to the identity of the victim and any other witnesses who were children at the time of the offence.

sentence

1. The offender stood trial on a judge alone trial before myself from 28 June 2022 until 7 July 2022 on two charges. The first one being that between 1 and 31 December 1984 he unlawfully caused the complainant to ingest a stupefying drug with the intent to enable him to commit an indictable offence of sexual assault. The second charge being that between those same dates he did have homosexual intercourse with the complainant, a male person above the age of ten and under the age of 18 years, namely 16 years of age, during a time when the offender worked as a school teacher at Cromer High School and the complainant was a pupil.

FACTS

2. On 14 July 2022 I found the offender not guilty of count 1 but guilty of count 2. The maximum penalty for that offence is 14 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty is of course an important guidepost in the sentencing exercise, to which I have had regard.

3. The facts must be determined based on the evidence at trial. Any matters in aggravation must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and matters in mitigation, on the balance of probabilities. The detailed facts are taken from my verdict and reasons of 14 July 2022, but in essence the relevant facts for sentence are as follows.

4. The offender was born on 13 November 1950 and was 34 years of age at the time of the offence. In 1984 he worked as a teacher at Cromer High School. The complainant was born in 1968 and started year 7 in 1981 at Cromer High School. In 1983 when he was in year 9 the complainant started taking part in extracurricular activities, which included school musicals and it was through his participation in these that he met the offender. The complainant became involved in a rock band in which he was the…