This is a case of Breach SORA (Sex Offenders Registration Act) that resulted in a financial penalty.
What is alleged to have occured?
Our client was on the Sexual Offenders Register due to a prior offending and breached it for the second time. The breach was related to a need to disclose a Facebook account.
What happened at court?
The matter was heard at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court and we acted on the client’s behalf.
We were able to establish that our client’s Facebook account was created prior to his involvement in the offence for which he got placed on the register, and that all conversations using that social media platform were not of an inappropriate nature. We also successfully made submissions as to the objectives of the SORA being not to control or punish the people registered, but rather to avoid recidivism of a sexual nature or of child-related employment. Our client’s failure to comply was not infringing on the objective of the act and, therefore, was a less serious example of non-compliance notwithstanding the relevant prior breaching offence 2 years earlier.
What was the result?
As a result, our client was simply fined for the Breach SORA charge and the court accepted that it was an innocent error/oversight.
What is alleged to have occured?
Our client was on the Sexual Offenders Register due to a prior offending and breached it for the second time. The breach was related to a need to disclose a Facebook account.
What happened at court?
The matter was heard at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court and we acted on the client’s behalf.
We were able to establish that our client’s Facebook account was created prior to his involvement in the offence for which he got placed on the register, and that all conversations using that social media platform were not of an inappropriate nature. We also successfully made submissions as to the objectives of the SORA being not to control or punish the people registered, but rather to avoid recidivism of a sexual nature or of child-related employment. Our client’s failure to comply was not infringing on the objective of the act and, therefore, was a less serious example of non-compliance notwithstanding the relevant prior breaching offence 2 years earlier.
What was the result?
As a result, our client was simply fined for the Breach SORA charge and the court accepted that it was an innocent error/oversight.
DISCLAIMER: This is a real case study of an actual case from our files. Details pertaining to the client have been changed to protect their privacy. The sentence imposed and the charge have not been altered. These case studies are published to demonstrate real outcomes and give an indication of possible tariffs in Court. We do not guarantee a similar case on these charges will get the same result. Please note that we post results at our discretion, therefore while many case studies are average results, others are notable for their exceptional outcomes. PUBLISHED 28/02/2018
