Regina v LC [2010] NSWSC 815

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Regina v LC [2010] NSWSC 815

HEARING DATE(S) : 10 March 2010, 18 March 2010, 11 June 2010, 30 July 2010

JUDGMENT DATE : 6 August 2010

JUDGMENT OF : Hidden J

DECISION : Sentenced to imprisonment for 14 1/2 years, NPP 10 1/2 years, from 18.6.08.

CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - sentence - manslaughter of child by stepfather - plea of guilty accepted in discharge of indictment for murder - offender with difficult background, personality disorder - on parole for previous manslaughter

LEGISLATION CITED : Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 Crimes Act 1900

CATEGORY : Sentence

R v Fernando (1992) 76 A Crim R 58 R v Marshall [2003] NSWSC 448 CASES CITED : R v Compton [2008] NSWSC 204 R v Hoerler [2004] NSWCCA 184, 147 A Crim R 520 R v Hoerler [2003] NSWCCA 1187

PARTIES : Regina (Crown) LC (Offender)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2009/6525

COUNSEL : J Kiely SC (Crown) S Hanley (Offender)

SOLICITORS : S Kavanagh - Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) P O'Brien, O'Brien Solicitors (Offender)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION CRIMINAL LIST

HIDDEN J

Friday 6 August 2010

2009/6525 Regina v LC

REMARKS ON SENTENCE 1 HIS HONOUR: The offender was to face trial for the murder of a baby boy, who was only 13 months old. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, on the basis that he killed the child by an unlawful and dangerous act, and that plea was accepted by the Crown in satisfaction of the indictment. He stands for sentence for that crime. 2 The law seeks to protect the anonymity of the child, as it does generally in respect of children involved in criminal proceedings in any capacity: Div 3A of Pt 2 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987. For that reason, the offender is identified only by initials and in these remarks I shall not refer by name to the child's mother or any other relative of his.