R v Curran [2019] NSWDC 460

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Curran [2019] NSWDC 460 Hearing dates: 17 May 2019, 6 June 2019 Decision date: 23 August 2019 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Rafter SC ADCJ Decision: Aggregate term of imprisonment of 2 years and 4 months with a non-parole period of 16 months Catchwords: SENTENCING – extent of retrospective operation of provision – principle of legality – historical offences – where the offender is convicted of seven historical offences – where s 25AA Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) was enacted with retrospective operation – where the provision applies to courts sentencing for historical offences – whether s 25AA cannot operate retrospectively where a proceeding has already commenced prior to the commencement of the section – whether the scope and purpose of the provision reveals a legislative intention for the provision to apply to extant proceedings

SENTENCING – special circumstances – effect of delay – hardship in custody – mitigation of sentence – variation of statutory parole period – where there has been a significant delay between the commission of the offences and the imposition of sentence – where the offender contributed to the delay – whether delay constitutes a special circumstance – where the offender was a judicial officer – where the offender is likely to serve the period of imprisonment in protective custody – whether hardship in custody constitutes a special circumstance Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) Criminal Legislation Amendment (Child Sexual Abuse) Act 2018 No 33 Cases Cited: AH v R [2015] NSWCCA 51 Baker v The Queen (2004) 223 CLR 513 Barbaro v R (2014) 253 CLR 58 Cheung v R (2001) 209 CLR 1 Collier v R [2012] NSWCCA 213 Flaherty v R; R v Flaherty [2016] NSWCCA 188 Greenwood v R [2014] NSWCCA 64 Hili v R (2010) 242 CLR 520 Lodhi v R (2006) 65 NSWLR 573 Markarian v R (2005) 228 CLR 372 Mayall v R [2010] NSWCCA 37 Mill v R (1988) 166 CLR 59 Morgan v R [2017] NSWCCA 269 Pearce v R (1998) 194 CLR 610 Purtill v R [2016] NSWCCA 80 R v D [1996] 1 Qd R 363 R v De Simoni (1981) 147 CLR 383 R v EGC [2005] NSWCCA 392 R v JCW (2000) 112 A Crim R 466 R v MJR (2002) 54 NSWLR 368 R v Nicholson [2018] NSWDC 347 R v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270 R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517 Stanton v R [2017] NSWCCA 250 Wade v R [2018] NSWCCA 85 Wong v R (2001) 207 CLR 584 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina (Crown) Graeme Bryan Curran (Offender) Representation: Counsel M Hobart SC (Crown) P Boulten SC and G Lewer (Offender)