General deterrence is excluded from the sentencing of child offenders under the CYF Act, and even for serious sexual offending by a 17-year-old, the primacy of rehabilitation may require a non-custodial disposition where the offender has no prior criminal history, demonstrates immaturity, and expert evidence supports community-based rehabilitation. There is no 'residual discretion' of the CMB kind in DPP appeals from the Children's Court to the County Court under s 427, but the County Court may properly reimpose the same sentence if doing so furthers ongoing rehabilitation. Pre-sentence report recommendations must be given full weight but are not binding.
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