1A 10-year head sentence on a guilty plea for rape committed during a pre-planned armed home invasion of a vulnerable sex worker, involving unprotected penile penetration and offending while on bail, fell within the permissible range of the sentencing discretion, having regard to comparable authorities suggesting a range of 10–14 years on a guilty plea.
2Appellate decisions declining to set aside sentences as manifestly excessive do not establish the outer bounds of the permissible sentencing discretion; they serve only as yardsticks reflecting unifying sentencing principles (Barbaro v The Queen (2014) 253 CLR 58 at [41]).
3It was impermissible to treat 10 years as a nominal starting point to be further reduced for mitigating factors; the correct approach is to assess whether the end sentence fell within the proper exercise of the sentencing discretion (Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357 at [39]).
