This is a case study on the offence of sexual penetration of a child wherein accused was intellectually disabled. The matter was heard at the County Court due to the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the alleged offences.
What is alleged to have occured?
Our client was charged with sexually penetrating his half sister on two occasions. Both he and his half sister are intellectually disabled, and our client was also a young man while his sister was under 16.
Our expert sexual offence lawyers provided criminal defence in behalf of the client at the Melbourne County Court on the following charges:
What happened at court?
The matter proceeded as a further plea and sentence. We made submissions as to why the client should not receive a conviction, primarily focussing on the client’s youth and his reduced moral culpability for the offending. Traditionally, the charges that our client pleaded guilty to would result in a prison sentence. However his age and intellectual disability reduced his culpability for the behaviour.
A community corrections order with a justice plan would allow the client to get assistance in the community and to focus on rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is one of the key sentencing principles when it comes to dealing with young offenders, including with people accused of sexual penetration of a child and who are intellectually disabled.
What was the result?
The client ultimately received a community corrections order with a justice plan without conviction. This is a good outcome considering that the allegations involved sexual penetration of a child with an accused that’s intellectually disabled.
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 23/06/2017
