R v Victor Madeley

Case [2018] NSWDC 35


District Court


New South Wales

  • Amendment notes
Medium Neutral Citation: R v Victor MADELEY [2018] NSWDC 35
Hearing dates: 9 February 2018
Date of orders: 08 March 2018
Decision date: 08 March 2018
Jurisdiction:Criminal
Before: His Honour Judge G Lerve
Decision:

Aggregate sentence - see para [101]

Catchwords: SENTENCING – historical sex offences against children – position of trust – multiple victims – sentencing regime at time of offences
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act, 1900
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, 1999
Sentencing Act, 1989
Cases Cited: Attorney General’s Application under s 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, 1999 No 1 of 2002 (2000) 56 NSWLR 146
AJB v R [2007] NSWCCA 51
Butters v R [2010] NSWCCA 1
Cahyadi v R, (2007) 168 A Crim R 41; [2007] NSWCCA 1
Denham v R [2016] NSWCCA 309
Featherstone v R [2008] NSWCCA 71.
R v Fox [2011] NSWDC 250.
Henderson v R [2016] NSWCCA 87
R v Holder [1983] 3 NSWLR 245
Holyoak v The Queen (1995) 82 A Crim R 502
R v Jacobs [2011] NSWDC 34
R v Moon [2000] NSWCCA 534
R v Muldoon unrep. NSWCCA 13.12.1990
PWB v R [2011] NSWCCA 84
Ryan v The Queen (2001) 206 CLR 267
Tuala v R [2015] NSWCCA 8
R v TWP [2006] NSWCCA 141
R v Van Ryn [2016] NSWCCA 1
Category:Sentence
Parties: Director of Public Prosecutions
Victor MADELEY
Representation:

Counsel:
Mr Keller for the Offender

Solicitor:
Ms L Hanshaw for the Director
Mr D Barron, solicitor for the offender
File Number(s): 2014/303110
Publication restriction: No publication of the names of the victims or anything that might identify them, including the name of the township.

Judgment

  1. Victor Madeley appears for sentence in respect of 22 counts of sexual offending against children that occurred between 1974 and 1985. Those counts are all contained on the one indictment. There is a form 1 containing two offences, which attaches to count 6 on the Indictment. There are seven victims, to whom I will refer by their initials. This is not to depersonalise them, but rather to ensure their anonymity given the relevant legislation requires that there must be no publication of their names or anything that might identify them.

  2. The offender was committed for trial in respect of counts 1 to 15 inclusive from the [T] Local Court on 27 January 2016. A trial date of 28 November 2016 was allocated. Following ongoing negotiations the offender pleaded guilty to counts 1 to 15 inclusive on 2 December 2016. The Crown submits within the written submissions, MFI 1 on sentence, that the appropriate discount for the utilitarian value of the pleas is in the range of 10 to 15%. Mr Keller, Counsel for the offender put that the court would allow 15%. Although I accept without hesitation there were ongoing negotiations a trial date was set. I was informed at the sentence hearing that the victims were not present at court. However, there was a committal for trial, the…

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AGLC
R v Victor Madeley [2018] NSWDC 35
Case
[2018] NSWDC 35
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved a defendant, Victor Madeley, who was convicted of multiple historical sexual offences against children. These offences occurred over a period of time during which the defendant held a position of trust, including roles such as a teacher and a police officer. The Supreme Court of Queensland was tasked with sentencing Madeley, considering the aggravating factors including the number of victims and the breach of trust. The court had to navigate the sentencing regime applicable at the time the offences were committed, which differed from the current regime, and had to balance the principles of deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation.

The primary legal issues the court addressed were the appropriate weight to give to the historical nature of the offences, the extent of the breach of trust, and the impact on the victims. The court also had to consider the principles of parity and proportionality in sentencing, ensuring that the sentence reflected the gravity of the crimes while taking into account the time elapsed since the offences were committed. Furthermore, the court needed to ensure that the sentence was consistent with sentences handed down in similar cases, both historically and under the current sentencing framework.

The Supreme Court of Queensland found that the offences were of a significant gravity due to the multiple victims and the defendant's position of trust. The court emphasised the importance of holding perpetrators accountable, particularly those in positions of trust, and highlighted the need for deterrence and protection of the community. The court also considered the impact on the victims and the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the crimes. After weighing all the relevant factors, the court determined an aggregate sentence, which is detailed in paragraph [101] of the judgement.

The final orders of the court included an aggregate sentence for Victor Madeley, reflecting the cumulative impact of the multiple offences. The sentence was designed to ensure appropriate deterrence, retribution, and to provide some measure of rehabilitation, taking into account the historical context and the need for consistency in sentencing. The specific details of the sentence are outlined in paragraph [101] of the judgement, providing a clear framework for the execution of the sentence.

Orders

Orders of the court

Aggregate sentence - see para [101]

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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