R v Slater

In the case of R v Slater, the appellant appealed against the sentence imposed by the trial judge, who had sentenced the appellant to six years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of three and a half years for one count of indecent assault and five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse by a schoolmaster. The victims were aged 16 and 17 years. The appellant had pleaded guilty to the charges.

The court had to determine whether the trial judge had correctly followed the approach to sentencing outlined in R v Major (1998) 70 SASR 488, and whether the sentence was appropriate in all the circumstances. The court found that the trial judge had not followed the approach in R v Major, as the judge had not allocated a notional sentence in respect of each offence, nor had the judge indicated how the single sentence arrived at was reached. The court also noted that there were factors warranting leniency.

The court allowed the appeal and set aside the sentence imposed by the trial judge. The court found that an appropriate sentence for the offending was a term of imprisonment of five and a half years with a non-parole period of two years and nine months. The court considered that the trial judge had not adequately taken into account the factors warranting leniency, and that the sentence imposed was too severe. The court fixed the penalty pursuant to s 18A of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988, and the sentence was to commence from the date fixed by the trial judge.