A sentencing judge who states satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt that an offender has committed uncharged offences goes beyond merely rejecting a plea in mitigation and commits a process error contrary to R v De Simoni. The distinction between rejecting a mitigating factor and positively finding an aggravating fact must be carefully maintained. Where resentencing of one co-offender is required due to process error, the other co-offender must also be resentenced to maintain parity.
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