R v Fenner [2020] NSWDC 732

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Fenner [2020] NSWDC 732 Hearing dates: 17 September 2020 Date of orders: 9 October 2020 Decision date: 09 October 2020 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Weber SC DCJ Decision: (1) The offender is convicted of the offences which bring him before the Court. (2) The offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years and nine months, with a non-parole period of two years and three months. (3) The Court directs that the term of imprisonment shall commence on 9 October 2020 and that the non-parole period shall expire on 8 January 2023, with the balance to expire on 8 July 2024. Catchwords: CRIME — Child sex offences — Sexual intercourse with a young person between 16 and 18 under special care – where the offender was the victim's teacher SENTENCING — Objective seriousness — gross breach of trust — the degree of planning — degree of grooming — the nature and number of the acts SENTENCING — Mitigating factors — Plea of guilty — Remorse and contrition — Rehabilitation — Unlikely to re-offend – where good character and lack of criminal record are not available as a mitigating factors as these are likely to have been within the contemplation of the legislature to be inherent in this offence SENTENCING — Relevant factors on sentence — Form 1 offences — Deterrence — General deterrence Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) Cases Cited: Dimian v R [2016] NSWCCA 223 Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357 R v Tadrosse (2005) 65 NSWLR 740 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Ben Fenner (Offender) Representation: Solicitors: Mr R Kimbell (Crown) Mr P Gibson (Offender) File Number(s): 2019/224795 Publication restriction: Pursuant to s 7 of the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010, and upon the grounds set out in s 8 (1) (d) of that Act, by order of the Court dated 23 July 2020, that there be no publication of the victim's name. Pursuant to s 578A (2) of the Crimes Act 1900, that there be no publication of any matter which identifies the complainant, or of any material likely to lead to the identification of the complainant.