Where a head sentence for rape of a stranger in a public place is set at the lower end of the range (reflecting mitigating features), the sentencing judge must not then apply a conventional one-third non-parole period without considering whether this involves double-counting of those mitigating features. A parole eligibility date of three years on an eight-year sentence for stranger rape is manifestly inadequate absent exceptional circumstances. The exercise of the discretion to declare a serious violent offence under s 161B(3) will usually reflect an appreciation that the offence is a more than usually serious or violent example of the offence in question, but the act of forcing a woman from a public place to rape her may itself be sufficient to warrant such a declaration.
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