An offender's honest but unreasonable belief that a child complainant was at least 16 years old is relevant to the sentencing discretion under s 9(4)(c) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), but the degree of allowance depends on the facts and circumstances, including the degree of unreasonableness of the belief. Such a belief does not carry decisive weight and may not alone or in combination with other factors constitute exceptional circumstances, particularly where there were obvious indicators of the complainant's youth such as wearing a school uniform.
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