There is no rule that sexual offences committed by an offender in a pre-existing relationship with the victim are less serious than those committed by a stranger; whether there is a pre-existing relationship is merely one of many factors in assessing objective seriousness. Breach of trust is a relevant aggravating factor in domestic violence offences. Jury verdicts of guilty on some counts and not guilty on others are reconcilable where the guilty verdicts are supported by corroborating evidence and the acquittals reflect counts where the complainant's evidence stood alone, consistent with a Murray direction.
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