A sentencing judge does not have statutory power under s 9AA(4)(b) of the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) to grant a 25% guilty plea discount unless the plea was entered at the first reasonable opportunity; a plea entered at the 13th court appearance on the second committal mention date is not at the first reasonable opportunity. For aggravated sexual penetration without consent (s 326, Criminal Code (WA), maximum 20 years), the yardstick of 5-6 years after trial for a single count of non-aggravated penile vaginal penetration must be adjusted upward to reflect the circumstance of aggravation (family relationship) and the higher maximum penalty. In cases involving sustained domestic and sexual violence across multiple categories of offending, the total effective sentence must meaningfully reflect each distinct category by some accumulation.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 7 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 7 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.