Reduced custody sentence for international child sex offences

Our client was convicted of 2 x Engaging in Sexual Activity Overseas with a Child Under the Age of 16 and 1 x Possession of Child Pornography. The matters were prosecuted by the Commonwealth and State DPPs on separate indictments with immediate imprisonment sought. Our client had a number of prior convictions for related offending but was young.

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We sought and obtained an expert psychiatric report which showed our client’s conduct was related to a pre-existing medical condition. We provided this report to the Court and to the Commonwealth and State DPPs and prepared extensive sentencing submissions to support a reduced imprisonment term.

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At sentencing, we were able to successfully draw the judge’s attention to the unique set of circumstances that gave rise to the offending that related to our client and the client’s recent rehabilitative efforts. We were also able to successfully persuade the judge our client's medical condition was partially causative of the offending.

 

The District Court judge imposed only a 20-month custodial term well below what had been indicated in comparative cases (i.e., 4 to 5 years).