For offences under s 272.11(1)(c) of the Criminal Code (Cth) involving sexual activity other than sexual intercourse conducted remotely over the internet, a starting point of 10 years imprisonment (before discount) for offending assessed as 'towards mid-range' objective seriousness is excessive, particularly where the offending involved a single victim, occurred over a short period, and was opportunistic rather than systematic. The Crown practice of justifying indicative sentences by expressing them as a percentage of the maximum penalty is criticised as tending to elevate objective seriousness above other sentencing factors required by instinctive synthesis. The question whether the proportionality principle in R v Whyte can be used to create a minimum sentence for offences of a particular level of objective seriousness was left open.
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