Rape Charges and Indecent Treatment of a Child

Our client was charged with three child sex offences against his friend’s seven year old daughter. We were engaged to act for our client soon after his arrest.  On our recommendation, he engaged in regular counselling sessions with a psychologist, which he continued up to his sentence.

He was sentenced in the District Court after pleading guilty to the three charges.  We tendered a detailed pre-sentence psychologist report to the court, which was prepared by the psychologist who was providing our client with the counselling.  That report assisted the court in identifying the risk our client posed in relation to re-offending.  We also tendered character references from a number of his family members and friends.

Our client had no previous criminal history, had a strong work ethic and had cooperated by pleading guilty at an early stage in his matter.

The complainant’s mother provided the court with two “victim impact statements” which outlined to the court the impact these offences had on both the young complainant and her family.

Despite the serious nature of the offences, the court imposed the following sentences:

• In relation to the two rape charges, he faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Our client was sentenced to 3.5 years imprisonment.  The court ordered that he would be eligible for parole after serving 12 months of that sentence in prison.
• In relation to the indecent treatment charge, the maximum penalty is 20 years imprisonment. He was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.

The court ordered that the terms of imprisonment were to be served concurrently (i.e. at the same time).

Due to the type of offences he was convicted of, it was a condition that he be placed on the Child Protection Offender Registry for a period of five years.  He will have an obligation to provide updated information as to his personal circumstances.

WARNING:

This is a summary of an actual case. Details have been omitted to protect the privacy of our client. We select cases which are informative and no guarantee is provided that similar results are achievable in all cases. Every case is different and you should obtain legal advice specific to your matter and circumstances.