R v Martin

The defendant, Terrence Martin, was convicted on a number of charges of sexual violation, indecency and attempted sexual violation. The victims were all relatives of the defendant, and the offending occurred over a number of years when the victims were between the ages of six and 15 years old. The defendant was sentenced following a restorative justice conference which was attended by two of the victims, their families and the defendant. The legal issues before the court were the appropriate starting point for the sentence, any personal aggravating or mitigating factors and whether to impose a minimum period of imprisonment. The court found the starting point for the sentence was 16 years imprisonment, but allowed a discount for the defendant's remorse, participation in the restorative justice conference and his guilty plea. The sentence was ultimately set at 11 years and six months imprisonment, and the court declined to impose a minimum period of imprisonment.