Australia, June 3 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on May 5:

1. ADAMSON JA: Sairusi Rokovada (the applicant) seeks leave to appeal against the sentence imposed on him by Hanley SC DCJ (the sentencing judge) on 21 October 2024 for a single count of sexual intercourse without consent contrary to s 61I of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The applicant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for 2 years and 6 months commencing on 7 May 2024 and expiring on 6 November 2026, with a non-parole period of 1 year and 3 months, expiring on 6 August 2025. The sentence imposed reflected a discount of 10% for the applicant's plea of guilty.

2. The sole proposed ground of appeal alleges that the sentencing judge erred in the application of s 25D(2) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (the Act) in applying a 10% reduction for the plea of guilty pursuant to s 25D(2)(b), when his Honour ought to have applied a reduction of 25% pursuant to s 25D(2)(a). It was common ground that, if leave were granted and the appeal allowed, the applicant should be resentenced on the basis that the only adjustment required was to alter the discount from 10% to 25%. Were the Court to take that course, it was common ground that the sentence would be adjusted to a term of imprisonment of 2 years and 1 month commencing on 7 May 2024 and expiring on 6 June 2026, with a non-parole period of 1 year expiring on 6 June 2025.

3. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to legislation in these reasons are references to the Act.

The relevant factual background

4. The alleged offending occurred in March 2022. On 15 March 2023, the applicant was arrested and charged by way of court attendance notice (CAN) with the following offences, each of which was alleged to have been committed as part of a single incident:

Table omitted, can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196847de1117d939a33da645)

5. On 13 November 2023, in the course of a case conference, the Crown offered to accept pleas of guilty to sequences 1 and 3 and, upon such pleas being entered, to withdraw sequence 5, with sequences 2 and 4 to be taken into account on a Form 1 pursuant to s 33 of the Act.

6. On 22 February 2024, the applicant made a counter offer to plead guilty to a single offence of sexual intercourse without consent contrary to s 61I of the Crimes Act on the basis that all other charges would be withdrawn and that the Crown would agree, for the purposes of sentencing, that the complainant consented to all sexual activity other than the applicant ejaculating.

7. On 13 March 2024, the Crown rejected the applicant's counter offer and responded with an offer to accept a plea of guilty to sequence 3 in full satisfaction of the remaining charges on the basis that the agreed facts stated that the victim did not consent to the sexual intercourse in its entirety. The applicant rejected this offer on 19 March 2024.

8. On 21 March 2024, the applicant was committed for trial on sequences 2-5. However, it was determined that sequence 1 would remain in the Local Court for summary disposition.

9. The proceedings in respect of sequences 2-5, which became counts 1-4 on the indictment, were listed for arraignment in the District Court at Parramatta on 12 April 2024. The trial was listed to commence on 5 May 2025.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/196847de1117d939a33da645)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.