Rowan v The State of Western Australia

The appellant, aged between 74 and 75 years at the time of the offences, appeals against a total effective sentence of 15 years' imprisonment for multiple sexual offences committed against four complainants under the age of 16. The offending occurred between 31 December 2006 and 1 January 2008. The appellant, a widowed pensioner with no prior convictions, entered a fast-track plea of guilty. The court was required to determine whether the total effective sentence of 15 years was appropriate under the totality principle, which mandates that the total sentence should reflect the overall criminality of all offences.

The key legal issue before the court was whether the total effective sentence of 15 years, which equates to 22 years and 6 months under previous law, was in breach of the first limb of the totality principle. This principle requires the total sentence to bear a proper relationship to the overall criminality, considering the totality of the offences and the offender's personal circumstances. The state conceded that the sentence infringed this principle. The court had to decide whether to set aside the orders for cumulation and concurrence and consider whether the delay in the appeal was adequately explained, which it found to be the case.

The court found that the state's concession of error by the sentencing judge was correct and set aside the orders for cumulation and concurrence. The separate sentences imposed for each offence were not challenged. The court concluded that the total effective sentence of 15 years did not appropriately reflect the overall criminality of the offences, considering the totality of the appellant's offending and his personal circumstances. The court granted the appellant an extension of time to appeal and ordered that the matter be remitted to the sentencing judge for reconsideration of the total effective sentence.