Delay of approximately five years between offence and sentence does not necessarily constitute a powerful mitigating factor where the offender has not demonstrated genuine rehabilitation (lacking insight and disclaiming responsibility) and has not shown stress or anxiety from the delay. The mitigatory weight of delay depends on whether the offender has used the period constructively and whether the delay has caused unfairness, not merely on the length of the delay itself. A sentencing judge is not bound by the prosecution's concession as to the appropriate sentence.
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