The Court held that for the purposes of s 21B CSPA, criminal proceedings commence when the court attendance notice for the particular offence is issued and filed, not when earlier CANs relating to different offences under the same H number were filed; accordingly, s 21B required sentencing in accordance with current sentencing patterns and practices. In applying totality and proportionality where the offender had already served 12 years in South Australia for similar offending against a third victim, the Court found the impact of totality was modest given the 22-year pattern of offending across three victims, but adjusted the non-parole period to achieve an overall non-parole period of 20 years (12 years SA plus 8 years NSW). The Court applied s 66EA(8) to take into account the lower historical maximum penalties for constituent offences, finding this favoured the offender but not to a great extent given the multiplicity of offences and the distinct nature of the unlawful sexual relationship charge.
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