Sentences for individual offences of incest do not provide relevant guidance for sentencing course of conduct charges of incest, particularly where the individual sentence was imposed before DPP v Dalgliesh. A sentence of 8 years' imprisonment for a course of conduct charge of incest involving regular penile-vaginal penetration of a 12-year-old stepdaughter over 22 months with bribery and coercion was held to be moderate. Where different forms of penile penetration over the same period are charged as separate course of conduct charges, cumulation of 5 years across those charges is within range where the offending involved distinct criminality, escalating aggression, and a gross breach of renewed trust.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 40 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 40 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.