The s 29D sentencing standard of approximately 12 years for persistent sexual offences against children is not strictly prescriptive and a head sentence of 14 years and 6 months is within range for very serious offending involving sadistic punishment over 12 years. An offender's continued denial of offending, combined with equivocal psychiatric evidence, entitles a sentencing judge to give little weight to the absence of subsequent offending as evidence of rehabilitation.
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