The Court sentenced the offender to 5 years and 6 months imprisonment (NPP 2 years 9 months) for sexual assault without consent under s 61I, assessed as slightly below mid-range objective seriousness. The Court found special circumstances based on the combination of first-time incarceration, exceptional hardship to the offender's family (partner with cancer history caring for four children and her own ailing mother), and the need for extended supervised parole to address coping mechanisms. The Court accepted that the offending was an aberration linked to a period of extreme personal distress and substance abuse, and that delay of over 5 years between offence and conviction during which the offender lived prosocially supported a low risk of reoffending.
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