Child sexual assault sentencing

The Attorney General has asked the Sentencing Council to produce a snapshot of sentencing for child sexual assault offences. The 2014 report of the Joint Select Committee on Sentencing Child Sexual Assault Offenders noted that community perceptions of sentencing decisions are influenced by limited available information, which may not reflect the complex considerations and sentencing principles that guide sentencing decisions in this area.

Report

A report was provided to the Attorney General on 13 November 2015:​ Sentencing for child sexual assault - final report (PDF, 561.9 KB)

Terms of reference

The Sentencing Council is to conduct a review of sentencing in child sexual assault matters in New South Wales that:

1. provides sentencing statistics for child sexual assault convictions over a two year period (2012 and 2013), with a focus on serious child sexual assault offences,
   
2. provides information on the characteristics of the offenders, sentence type and length, and
   
3. provides background information, including: the key sentencing principles and reasoning employed by sentencing judges; the mitigating subjective features of the offender; and any other significant factors considered in the sentencing decision that explains how courts come to their final decision on sentence. This may be done using case-studies or collation of predominate themes across cases.
   

Background material

The Joint Select Committee's report and government response can be found here.