R v GAM [2020] NSWDC 304

R v GAM [2020] NSWDC 304

The offending warranted imprisonment because the 2018 indecent assaults involved an unconscious young woman in a place where she was entitled to feel safe, the 2005/2006 aggravated indecent assault involved a child stepdaughter and an abuse of trust, and the section 5 threshold was crossed for both sets of offending. The offender's early guilty plea, remorse, traumatic childhood sexual abuse, mental health and special circumstances reduced the sentence, but his continued drinking and low to medium risk of reoffending required specific deterrence and community protection. Totality justified concurrency across offending with common features and similar root causes, resulting in an aggregate...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
16 June 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentencing / Sentence
Outcome
Offender convicted on the two 2005/2006 charges and the two 2018 charges and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 33 months, with a non-parole period of 18 months and a balance of term of 15 months.
Legal Topics
['sexual Offences' 'indecent Assault' 'aggravated Indecent Assault' 'common Assault' 'form 1 Procedure' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'totality' 'special Circumstances']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['sexual Offences' 'indecent Assault' 'aggravated Indecent Assault' 'common Assault' 'form 1 Procedure' 'standard Non Parole Period' 'totality' 'special Circumstances']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentencing / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether custodial sentences were required for the 2018 offences under section 61L of the Crimes Act and the 2005/2006 offending under sections 61M(1) and 61 of the Crimes Act.' 'How the objective seriousness of each offence should be assessed, including the vulnerability of the victims and abuse of trust.' 'Whether the aggravating factor in section 21A(3)(eb) applied to offending committed in a home.' "How the offender's childhood sexual abuse, mental health, alcohol use, remorse, guilty plea, criminal history and prospects affected sentence." 'How totality and special circumstances should affect the aggregate sentence and non-parole period.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offending warranted imprisonment because the 2018 indecent assaults involved an unconscious young woman in a place where she was entitled to feel safe, the 2005/2006 aggravated indecent assault involved a child stepdaughter and an abuse of trust, and the section 5 threshold was crossed for both sets of offending. The offender's early guilty plea, remorse, traumatic childhood sexual abuse, mental health and special circumstances reduced the sentence, but his continued drinking and low to medium risk of reoffending required specific deterrence and community protection. Totality justified concurrency across offending with common features and similar root causes, resulting in an aggregate...

Court Disposition

Offender convicted on the two 2005/2006 charges and the two 2018 charges and sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 33 months, with a non-parole period of 18 months and a balance of term of 15 months.

Orders

  • ['The offender is convicted in respect of the 2 charges from 2005/2006 and the 2 charges arising from 2018.' 'The offender is sentenced to a non-parole period of 18 months to commence from 16 June 2020 and expiring on 15 December 2021, with a balance of term of 15 months expiring on 15 March 2023.']