When sentencing for using a carriage service to cause offence under s 474.17 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), the offender's purpose in communicating sexually explicit material to a person believed to be a child cannot be treated as an aggravating circumstance where that purpose constitutes a distinctive element of more serious uncharged offences such as grooming or procuring under ss 474.26, 474.27 or 474.27A. Where an offender offers to plead guilty at an early stage to the charges ultimately proceeded upon, the discount should be assessed from the time of the offer, not from when the Crown eventually accepts it. Both limbs of delay — rehabilitation and unfairness — must be given weight in the sentencing synthesis.
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