The total effective sentence of 7 years 2 months' imprisonment for two counts of sexually penetrating a de facto child under 16 (involving penile/vaginal and penile/anal penetration on separate occasions) was upheld by the majority as within the range of a sound exercise of the sentencing discretion. The minority would have reduced the total effective sentence to 5 years 8 months. The court unanimously confirmed that the onus of establishing remorse lies on the offender on the balance of probabilities, and that words such as 'may be remorseful' do not constitute a finding of remorse. The question whether the representative nature of a count may lead to a heavier sentence than for an isolated incident in WA was left open.
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