A sentence of 10 years imprisonment for rape accompanied by near-fatal strangulation of the victim is within range, even where the offender is young (21-22), pleads guilty, has no significant prior convictions, and the offending is said to be out of character. The extreme violence, abandonment of the unconscious victim, and severe psychological harm to the complainant are properly treated as serious aggravating features that outweigh mitigating factors of youth, plea of guilty, and lack of prior serious convictions.
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