The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal against sentence and varied a nine-month cumulative sentence for indecent dealing with a child under 16 by suspending it after three months with a 12-month operational period under s 144 of the Penalties and Sentences Act. The variation was made because the restriction in s 157 (requiring a head sentence of more than two years before a recommendation for early parole eligibility) might have prevented the applicant from being released after serving the intended three months cumulative on his existing New South Wales sentence. The Court held that using a partially suspended sentence provided greater certainty in achieving the intended effective custodial period, while giving adequate regard to the totality principle given the existing interstate sentences.
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