Where a sentencing judge departs significantly from the standard non-parole period, the reasons for departure must be stated with specificity, and the greater the departure the more compelling the reasons must be. A departure from a 10-year standard non-parole period to 3 years could not be justified even by a combination of youth, good character, remorse, early plea, and intoxication for a violent sexual assault on a vulnerable elderly victim. Findings of very good rehabilitation prospects and unlikelihood of reoffending are difficult to sustain where no satisfactory explanation for the offending has been provided.
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