A sentencing judge must assess the objective seriousness of each offence individually rather than on a collective basis, particularly where offences involve different forms of activity and varying degrees of planning. A sentencing judge's failure to refer to the Child Welfare Act 1939 (NSW) is not error where the matter was not drawn to the judge's attention by counsel. In historical child sexual abuse cases prosecuted under repealed provisions with lower maximum penalties, it may be easier to find that emotional harm is substantial for the purposes of s 21A(2)(g) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).
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