Being charged with multiple sexual offences can have profound consequences for a person’s freedom, reputation, employment and future.
Brancato Law recently represented a client who was charged with multiple sexual assault offences involving different victims. The allegations related to incidents said to have occurred as people were getting off a train and occurred over a number of days.
The case involved serious allegations and a sentence involving an immediate term of imprisonment was well within range. Due to our client’s circumstances, they were also not able to complete a community corrections order.
Following negotiations regarding the charges and careful preparation for a plea of guilty, the matter ended with the client receiving a fine rather than a term of imprisonment.
The client was extremely happy with the outcome.
The details of this case study have been generalised and anonymised to protect the client’s privacy and confidentiality.
Risk of Imprisonment
At the commencement of the matter, our client was informed that an immediate term of imprisonment was a potential outcome.
This was a significant concern for the client.
In Victoria, sentencing courts must consider the sentencing guidelines outlined in section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991. These include punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community. The court must consider the particular circumstances of both the offending and the offender when determining the appropriate sentence.
The seriousness of the allegations meant that general deterrence and community protection were important considerations in the sentencing exercise.
Our task was therefore to carefully present the circumstances of the case and the client in a way that addressed the seriousness of the offending while identifying the factors relevant to the appropriate sentence.
Plea in Mitigation
Once the charges had been resolved, significant preparation was undertaken for the plea hearing.
The plea hearing provided an opportunity for us, on behalf of our client, to place relevant information before the Court concerning the client and the circumstances of the offending.
Our submissions addressed the matters relevant to sentence and sought to persuade the Court that this a monetary penalty could satisfy the sentencing guildelines and was appropriate for this matter.
This required careful consideration of the competing sentencing purposes, particularly general deterrence and community protection.
The Outcome
Despite the significant initial concern about an immediate term of imprisonment, the client ultimately received a fine.
The result represented a significant difference from the outcome the client had initially been warned was a realistic possibility.
The client was extremely happy with the result and was able to move forward with his life.