R v Mackenzie-Hunter [2021] NSWDC 740

R v Mackenzie-Hunter [2021] NSWDC 740

The offence was serious and fell below the midrange but above the lower range of objective seriousness: it involved repeated sexually explicit communications over about six weeks, significant age difference, secrecy, images and video of the offender's penis, and attempts to facilitate online sexual activity with a person believed to be 14. The court was not satisfied that the offender had a real intention to pursue in-person sexual activity, that the advertisement was specifically aimed at children, or that intoxication provided mitigation. The offender's chronic mental illness was not directly causative of the offending but made custody more onerous, and together with genuine remorse, an...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
29 November 2021
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentencing for an Offence Under S 474.27(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 / Sentence After Early Plea of Guilty
Outcome
Convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years 9 months, with release after serving 18 months on a recognisance release order, and a forfeiture order made.
Legal Topics
['use Carriage Service to Groom Child Under 16 Years' 'commonwealth Sentencing' 'recognisance Release Order' 'forfeiture Order' 'objective Seriousness' 'mental Illness and Sentencing' 'intoxication and Mitigation' 'general Deterrence']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['use Carriage Service to Groom Child Under 16 Years' 'commonwealth Sentencing' 'recognisance Release Order' 'forfeiture Order' 'objective Seriousness' 'mental Illness and Sentencing' 'intoxication and Mitigation' 'general Deterrence']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentencing for an Offence Under S 474.27(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code 1995 / Sentence After Early Plea of Guilty

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What sentence should be imposed for using a carriage service to transmit communications to a person believed to be under 16 years of age with the intention of making it easier to procure the recipient to engage in sexual activity with the offender.' 'How the objective seriousness of the offending should be assessed, including the number and nature of communications, persistence, sexual material, intended sexual activity, age and power differential, secrecy, planning and sophistication.' 'Whether the offender had a real intention to pursue in-person sexual activity or whether the intention extended to possible online sexual activity.' 'Whether intoxication at the time of offending mitigated the offending.' "How the offender's chronic mental illness affected sentence, including whether it had a direct causal link to the offending and whether it made custody more onerous." 'Whether full-time imprisonment was the only appropriate sentencing option and what recognisance release conditions should be imposed.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offence was serious and fell below the midrange but above the lower range of objective seriousness: it involved repeated sexually explicit communications over about six weeks, significant age difference, secrecy, images and video of the offender's penis, and attempts to facilitate online sexual activity with a person believed to be 14. The court was not satisfied that the offender had a real intention to pursue in-person sexual activity, that the advertisement was specifically aimed at children, or that intoxication provided mitigation. The offender's chronic mental illness was not directly causative of the offending but made custody more onerous, and together with genuine remorse, an...

Court Disposition

Convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years 9 months, with release after serving 18 months on a recognisance release order, and a forfeiture order made.

Orders

  • ['The offender is sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years 9 months, dating from 28 January 2021 and expiring on 27 October 2023.' 'Pursuant to s 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914, the offender is to be released after serving 18 months upon giving security by recognisance in the sum of $100 without sureties.' 'The...