Child abduction offences under s 363A of the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) where the offender is a parent, the taking is non-violent, and there is no sexual motivation are to be treated as significantly less serious than cases involving unrelated children taken with sexual motivation. A sentence of four years' imprisonment for such parental abduction (where the child was taken for three days) was manifestly excessive; 18 months' imprisonment was substituted. The observation in R v [name withheld] that absence of comparable sentences makes it harder for an appellate court to find manifest excess may need reconsideration in light of [name withheld] and [name withheld].
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