Common mitigating factors in child sexual offence cases — plea of guilty, no prior criminal history, remorse, psychiatric condition, voluntary counselling, unlikelihood of reoffending, and offences at the lower end of the spectrum — are not exceptional either individually or in combination, and do not warrant sparing an offender actual imprisonment where there is a significant age disparity, breach of trust, and premeditation. General deterrence and community denunciation remain the primary sentencing considerations for sexual offences against children.
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