Alizada v WA

[2021] WASCA 18

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Appeal
3. › Appeal against sentence
4. › Whether sentence manifestly excessive
5. › Sexual penetration without consent
6. › Sentencing range for non-aggravated penile penetration
7. › Criminal Code (WA), s 325(1)
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Findings of fact on sentencing
4. › Whether reasonably open to sentencing judge to make finding
5. › Finding as to premeditation
6. › Finding as to attitudinal problem
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Aggravating factors
4. › Vulnerability of victim
5. › Supply of alcohol to victim
6. › Age disparity
7. › Victim unconscious during offending
8. › Impact on victim

Quick Take

A sentence of 5 years 8 months' imprisonment for non-aggravated sexual penetration without consent under s 325(1) of the Criminal Code (WA) was upheld where the offender exploited a vulnerable 18-year-old victim who was unconscious, supplied her with alcohol hoping she would become disinhibited, and had a prior conviction for violence against a woman. The case confirms that a sentence of 5 to 6 years' imprisonment for a single count of non-aggravated penile penetration after trial is not unusual, and that a sentencing judge's finding that an offender has a 'serious attitudinal problem' in relation to women can be supported by the circumstances of the index offence alone.