RMS v WA

[2010] WASCA 76

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Appeal against sentence
4. › Totality principle
5. › Multiple counts of sexual offences against child
6. › Whether total effective sentence disproportionate to overall criminality
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Mitigating factors
4. › Voluntary disclosure of otherwise unknown offences
5. › Degree of leniency to be afforded
6. › Whether sentencing judge failed to take into account voluntary disclosures
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Sexual offences against children
4. › Multiple offences by father against daughter
5. › Offences occurring over single 24-hour period
6. › Comparable sentences

Quick Take

The totality principle requires that a total effective sentence for multiple sexual offences against a child be proportionate to the overall criminality, and where the offender has voluntarily disclosed offences that were otherwise unlikely to come to light, this is a factor of such importance that failure to expressly advert to it in sentencing remarks suggests it was overlooked. The case also illustrates that offending confined to a single 24-hour period, while very serious, is to be distinguished from prolonged offending over months or years for the purposes of assessing overall criminality.