R v Shaw CA478/03

In the case of CA478/03, the appellant, Graeme Shaw, was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual offending against children, including sexual violation, indecent assault, and sexual activity with minors. The crimes were committed over a short period, from 1 November 2002 to 22 January 2003, involving six child victims aged between 6 and 12 years. The appellant had a history of similar offences, with 13 prior convictions for sexual offences against children. The sentencing judge, Venning J, imposed a sentence of preventive detention, directing a minimum imprisonment term of six years, due to the substantial risk of re-offending as indicated by two forensic psychiatrists, Dr Wyness and Dr Moskowitz.

The appeal focused on whether the sentence of preventive detention was justified under ss87-90 of the Sentencing Act 2002. The appellant's counsel argued that a lengthy determinate sentence would suffice to protect society, citing the appellant's limited intellectual functioning and lack of cognitive testing. However, the court found that the appellant's history of serious sexual offences, the severity of the current offences, and the failure of previous treatment programs warranted a preventive detention sentence. The court concluded that the appellant's risk of re-offending was too high to be adequately managed by a finite sentence, leading to the affirmation of the preventive detention sentence.

The Court of Appeal, comprising McGrath J, Goddard J, and Chisholm J, dismissed the appeal. The court held that the appellant's persistent and increasingly severe sexual offending, coupled with the lack of effective rehabilitation, justified the preventive detention sentence. The court's decision emphasised the need to protect the community from the appellant's substantial risk of re-offending. The appeal was thus dismissed, and the sentence of preventive detention was upheld.