Lewsam v WA

[2016] WASCA 60

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Appeal against sentence
4. › Totality principle
5. › Whether total effective sentence bears proper relationship to overall criminality
6. › Multiple victims of sexual offences against children
7. › Criminal Code (WA), s 320
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Sexual offences against children
4. › Sexual penetration of child under 13
5. › Indecent dealing with child under 13
6. › Indecently recording a child
7. › Customary sentencing standards
8. › Criminal Code (WA), s 320(2), s 320(4), s 320(6)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Possession of child exploitation material
4. › Criminal Code (WA), s 220

Quick Take

A total effective sentence for child sexual offences must be assessed against customary sentencing standards, including the most serious comparable cases. Where the number of victims is very large but the individual offences are towards the lower end of seriousness and involve brief isolated offending rather than sustained intra-familial abuse, the total effective sentence should not exceed that customarily imposed in the most serious cases, particularly where the offender pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. The greater number of victims, while significant, does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that overall criminality equals or exceeds that in cases involving fewer victims but more intrusive and sustained offending.