Where a sentencing judge fails to account for non-declarable pre-sentence custody in the head sentence or to explain why no allowance is made, this constitutes sentencing error. However, the error will not result in the sentence being disturbed on appeal if the Court of Appeal, exercising its independent discretion under Kentwell, would not impose a lesser sentence. The case provides a useful sentencing comparable for serious domestic violence offending involving torture, rape, and sustained degradation, with a notional sentence of approximately 10 years and 5 months before reduction for pre-sentence custody.
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