'Five errors' made in Aurukun rape sentencing
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The Court of Appeal in Brisbane has heard that general deterrence was not taken into account when nine males were sentenced over a child rape in a far north Queensland Indigenous community.
The three men and six juveniles pleaded guilty to the 2006 rape of a 10-year-old girl in Aurukun in the state's far north and they were all given non-custodial sentences.
Today an appeal against the leniency of those sentences got underway in the Court of Appeal.
Walter Sofronoff QC for the Attorney-General told the court there were five main errors made in sentencing the group.
He said the Judge treated all of the defendants equally despite their different ages and criminal histories.
He also said she did not explain her reasons for handing down non-custodial sentences and that the rule of general deterrence was not taken into account.
He said while it was evident that the Aurukun community was dysfunctional, general deterrence should still apply.
The defence lawyer says the non-custodial sentences given to his clients are not a miscarriage of justice.
Ken Fleming told the Court there are a number of reasons the appeal should be dismissed, one of them being that the prosecutor did not ask for custodial sentences.
