R v AT [2020] NSWDC 954

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v AT [2020] NSWDC 954 Hearing dates: Friday 21 August 2020 Date of orders: Monday 31 August 2020 Decision date: 31 August 2020 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Tupman DCJ Decision: Formal Sentence Orders: (1) The offender is convicted on all substantive offences. (2) For the offences involving TL: An aggregate sentence pursuant to s 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) of 7 years with an aggregate non-parole period of 4 years and 9 (3) For offences involving KT: The offender is sentenced to a non-parole period of 5 years with parole thereafter of 4 years giving rise to an overall term of imprisonment of 9 years. (4) Overall sentence 12 years with overall non parole period 8 years. Catchwords: CRIME — Child sex offences — Maintain unlawful sexual relationship with child under – max penalty life imprisonment — Aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 — Aggravated indecent assault of a person under 16 years — Three substantive offences — Four Form 1 offences — Two victims aged between 10 and 13 years old — Offender was about 42 years old — Offender was the biological father of the victims — Offender engaged in a course of sexual-offending conduct against the two victims over relatively short period of time — Offences not one-off events — Offences occurred on a remote and decrepit rural property surrounded by bushland — Offender engaged in a wide range of sexual acts with victims and used manipulation and a degree of planning to commit offences — Offences in the middle of the range of objective seriousness — VIS provided and taken into account — Both victims have suffered serious psychological sequelae — Offender has criminal record but no sex offences — Early guilty plea — Actuarial assessment of recidivism assessed as low but real risk of re-offending is not low — Prospects of rehabilitation guarded. Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW): ss 61J(1), 61M(2), 66EA; Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW): s 53A. Cases Cited: R v VJW (2000) 112 ACrimR 1. Category: Principal judgment Parties: Regina (The Crown) AT (The Offender) Representation: Counsel: Ms. J. Krippner (The Crown) Ms. S. Hall (The Offender)