A sentencing judge determining whether exceptional circumstances exist under s 9(4) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) must consider the combination of all relevant circumstances, including mental illness and personal factors, and must articulate why the combination does not establish exceptional circumstances. Failure to do so constitutes a [name withheld] error warranting appellate intervention. A single episode of low-level grooming by text messaging, combined with an early plea on an unusual basis, absence of prior sexual offending, voluntary rehabilitation, mental illness, and extra-curial punishment, is capable of establishing exceptional circumstances.
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