A sentencing judge faced with multiple offences of different types carrying different maximum penalties may legitimately construct the sentence by grouping charges and applying concurrency within groups rather than between them, provided the overall sentence reflects the totality of the offending. The concept of a 'crushing' sentence within the totality principle is confined to cases where age, infirmity or analogous circumstances would crush the defendant's motivation to rehabilitate. For the purposes of s 54(2) of the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA), the absence of prior convictions carries less weight in establishing 'exceptional' personal circumstances for sexual offenders, as that category of offender commonly appears before the court without a criminal history.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.
1 of the 1 citing case carries a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.