Sentencing standards established by the Court of Criminal Appeal provide general guidance only and do not establish rigid benchmarks; it is an error of principle to sentence by comparing the facts of a particular case with the circumstances referred to in a guideline decision. The totality principle will usually have little part to play when a single sentence is imposed under s 18A of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA). There is no basis for a uniform practice of making a greater reduction for guilty pleas in sexual offence cases involving children than for other types of offending.
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