NCJ Number
243028
Date Published
June 2013
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Sentencing data for the offense of sexual penetration of a child under 12 years old are presented for the County Court of Victoria, Australia, for the 5 years between 2007-08 and 2011-12.
Abstract
During this period, 71 people were sentenced for this offense in higher courts. All of those sentenced were men, and 65 percent were between the ages of 35 and 59. Seventy-six percent of the men received a period of imprisonment, and 13 percent received a wholly suspended sentence of imprisonment. Imprisonment was most common for offenders between 50 and 54 years old, and wholly suspended sentences of imprisonment were more common for offenders younger than 40 years old. Each of the 71 men was sentenced for an average of 6.9 offenses, including 1.99 offenses of sexual penetration of a child under 12 years old. The most common offense that was in conjunction with sexual penetration of a child under 12 years old was an indecent act with a child under age 16. Prison sentence lengths were longer for the total effective sentence than for the principal sentence. The median total effective imprisonment length was 5 years and 6 months, and the median principal imprisonment length was 4 years. Total effective imprisonment lengths ranged from 3 months with no non-parole period to 18 years with a non-parole period of 12 years. The most common sentence of imprisonment was 7 years with a non-parole period of 4 years. The most common wholly suspended sentence length was 2 years. 12 figures and 22 notes