Sentencing for Sexual Penetration Offences Statistical Report Released
The Sentencing Advisory Council has released a statistical report examining sentencing outcomes in Victoria between July 2006 and June 2008 for five sexual penetration offences:
- sexual penetration with a child aged under 10;
- sexual penetration with a child aged between 10 and 16 and under the care, supervision or authority of the offender;
- sexual penetration with a child aged between 10 and 16;
- rape; and
- incest.
The report also examines variation in sentencing for the three offence categories of sexual penetration of a child aged under 16 according to various charge and case characteristics, such as the age of the victim and the offender and the offender's criminal history.
Key findings from the report include:
- Imprisonment was the most common sentence imposed for charges in each offence category, however the percentage of charges that received imprisonment varied considerably – imprisonment was imposed on approximately 90 per cent of charges of rape, incest and sexual penetration with a child aged under 10, but it was imposed on only 52 per cent of charges of sexual penetration with a child aged 10 to under 16.
- Rape charges had the longest average term of imprisonment (4.7 years), while charges of sexual penetration with a child aged 10 to under 16 had the lowest (2.3 years).
- The age of the victim appeared to have a clear effect on sentence outcomes, with a decline in sentence severity as the age of the victim increased.
- The defendant’s age at the time of the offence and the discrepancy between the ages of the victim and the defendant were also relevant; generally, as the defendant’s age and the age discrepancy increased, so did the severity of sentencing.