For offences under s 218A of the Criminal Code (Qld) involving police sting operations where no real child is the recipient of the offender's communications, the absence of a real child victim is a relevant consideration to penalty, as reflected by the factors in s 9(6) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld). However, general and specific deterrence remain important considerations, and a sentence requiring actual imprisonment is not outside the range of appropriate sentences even for a first offender. For a first offence at the lower end of seriousness involving a police sting, a head sentence of 18 months imprisonment wholly suspended was appropriate where the offender demonstrated remorse, cooperated with authorities, had no prior convictions, and was undergoing psychiatric treatment with a good prognosis.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 14 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 14 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.