A sentence of actual imprisonment remains within the sentencing discretion for historical child sexual offences involving a breach of trust, even where the offender has no criminal history, the offence was opportunistic and committed decades earlier, and the offending was at the lower end of the scale. The attribution of excessive weight to a relevant factor (such as a victim impact statement) does not constitute a 'specific error' under House v The King but is properly characterised as a reason supporting a submission of manifest excess. Carmody CJ's extensive critique of the House v The King dichotomy between specific error and manifest error was not endorsed by the other members of the Court and remains obiter.
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