In historical child sexual assault cases, delay in prosecution attributable to the nature of the offending and the family relationship between offender and victim does not operate as a mitigating factor. Advanced age of itself should not be regarded as a mitigating factor for historical sex offences. A sentencing court must ensure that the conduct taken into account for sentencing corresponds to the offence as charged (including as amended), and failure to do so constitutes error requiring resentencing.
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