Sentencing — unlawful sexual connection — indecent act on a child — name suppression — R v A M [2010] NZCA 114, [2010] 2 NZLR 750. The defendant appeared for sentencing after pleading guilty to representative charges of unlawful sexual connection and indecent act on a child under the age of 12. The offending occurred over a 6 month period after the defendant befriended the victim's family and gained their trust to be left alone with the victim. It was decided the offending fell in band 2 of the tariff case, R v M. Factors that put the offending in this category were the breach of trust, scale of offending over several months, vulnerability of the victim and premeditation. A starting sentence of 6 years' imprisonment was given. The defendant had also attended a STOP programme in the past, and although he had not been charged with sexual offending, he should have been aware of the warning signs that he was likely to offend. Mitigating factors were the defendant's old age, lack of previous convictions for dishonesty, his poor health, remorse and immediate guilty plea. A final sentence of 3 years' imprisonment was given. Finally, the judge had to decide whether to grant the defendant permanent name suppression. The starting point in relation to suppression is the principle of open justice; the public have the right know people who come before the Court, especially if they are being sentenced on serious charges. The victim and her family opposed name suppression. It was submitted that publication of the defendant's name would cause extreme hardship to his daughter-in-law, who was facing health issues. This is a high threshold to reach but after receiving evidence from the daughter-in-law's doctor, the judge determined it had been met. Permanent name suppression was granted. Judgment Date: 7 March 2018. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *