R v Edwards [2024] NSWDC 497

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Edwards [2024] NSWDC 497 Hearing dates: 2, 8 August 2024 Date of orders: 10 October 2024 Decision date: 10 October 2024 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Sutherland SC DCJ Decision: Aggregate sentence of 7 years with a non-parole period of 3 years, at [268 – 269]. Catchwords: SENTENCING — Principle of totality — Backdating when offender previously sentenced for related offending and that sentence expired many years prior to charging, arrest and sentencing for index offences — Offender in continuous custody referable to two prior sentences for over 12 years at the time of sentence — Analysis of the Court's ability to backdate a sentence to a date before the charging and arrest of the offender for the index offences — Court found the discretion in section 47 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 allows for the imposition of an appropriate length of sentence, and to then backdate the commencement date into the pre-existing period of unbroken custody, notwithstanding the sentence previously being served was for a different offence and that the charge for the current matter had not yet been preferred. Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) Crimes (Serious Sex Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Cases Cited: Almaouie v R [2021] NSWCCA 274 Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 387; (2013) 249 CLR 571 Caristo v R [2011] NSWCCA 7 Darrigo v R [2007] NSWCCA 9 FL v R [2020] NSWCCA 114 John v R [2015] NSWCCA 5 Kljaic v R [2023] NSWCCA 225 Mill v The Queen [1988] 166 CLR 59 Munda v Western Australia (2013) 249 CLR 600; [2013] HCA 38 R v Cattell [2019] NSWCCA 297 R v DW (No 1) [2020] NSWDC 461 R v Holder; R v Johnston [1983] 3 NSWLR 245 at 260 R v Jenkyns (Court of Criminal Appeal (QLD), 11 June 1986, unreported) R v McHugh [1985] 1 NSWLR 588 R v Newman and Simpson [2004] NSWCCA 102, 145 A Crim R 361 R v Qutami [2001] NSWCCA 353; (2001) 127 A Crim R 369 R v SW (District Court of New South Wales (Wollongong), 10 September 2018, unreported) R v Thomas [2007] NSWCCA 269 R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517 R v Tuuta [2014] NSWCCA 40 Refaieh v R [2018] NSWCCA 72 Richards v R [2023] NSWCCA 107 State of New South Wales v Darrego [2011] NSWSC 1449 Wiggins v R [2010] NSWCCA 30 Category: Sentence Parties: Rex (Crown) Richard Edwards (Offender) Representation: Counsel: L Hanshaw (Crown) C Penning (Offender)