Sentencing — sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection — indecent assault — R v Baldwin CRI-2008-004-23804 20/4/2010 HCT Auckland — R v A M [2010] NZCA 114. The defendant appeared for sentencing on one charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, one of indecent assault and one representative charge of indecent assault on a child aged between six and 12 years. The victim was his daughter. Over a six-year period the defendant had frequently touched her private parts and instructed her to fondle his penis. On another occasion he had allowed an unknown number of people to touch her vagina and had inserted his penis into her mouth. The Court agreed with the submission of the Crown to follow the sentencing approach in R v Baldwin, of assessing all of the circumstances of the offending as a whole, rather than sentencing on a lead charge and then applying an uplift for the other offending. The aggravating features of the offending included the degree of violation, use of violence, vulnerability of the victim, planning and premeditation, and the abuse of trust. The defendant had shown no remorse. The offending fell into band 3 of R v AM, and the Court reached a starting point of 13 years' imprisonment. The defendant got a 20 percent discount for guilty plea, for a final sentence of 10 and a half years' imprisonment. The Court gave the defendant permanent name suppression in spite of the opposition of the victim, who wanted people to know what he was capable of. The Court sympathised with her argument but considered name suppression was necessary to protect the victim. Judgment Date: 18 May 2018. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *