When sentencing for historical child sexual assault offences committed by a child offender, delay operates as a mitigating factor in multiple distinct ways: loss of Children's Court jurisdiction, loss of pre-s 25AA sentencing standards, and loss of non-custodial sentencing options removed by the 2018 amendments. The weight of delay as mitigation may be reduced where the offender's own threats caused the delay in reporting. The age of a child offender and the context of family dysfunction including the offender's own victimisation bear upon the assessment of objective seriousness.
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