Sentencing — unlawful sexual connection — sexual offending — rape — CYFS abuse — R v AM [2010] NZCA 114. The defendant appeared for sentencing having been found guilty of 15 sexual offending charges relating to two victims who were in the defendant's care. The defendant was found guilty of various sexual offences, including sexual violation by rape and indecent assault on a girl aged under 12 years. The Judge laid out the facts as they related to the various individual charges and identified the aggravating factors, per R v AM. Those factors were the scale of the offending, the planning and premeditation involved, the multiple victims, their vulnerability, the significant breach of trust, and the harm to the victims. The Judge adopted a starting point of 16 years based on those factors, but reduced it one year for the defendant's old age and then reduced it further upon assessing the offending in its totality. The final sentence was 12 years' imprisonment. The defendant was placed on the Child Sex Offender Register. Judgment Date: 18 April 2018. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *