Where additional counts are charged after a defendant's first court appearance, the maximum guilty plea discount under s10C(2)(a) of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) (40%) may apply to those additional counts if the defendant pleads guilty within four weeks of first appearing in relation to them, even if the 30% cap under s10C(2)(b) applies to the original counts. Sentencing judges should take a robust approach to guilty plea discounts under s10C, and a discount of approximately 18.75% for early pre-committal pleas is manifestly inadequate. A sentencing judge must confine the factual basis for sentencing to the amounts charged and proved, and cannot have regard to larger amounts allegedly stolen but not charged, even as 'background'.
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