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District Court 26 June 2025

R v Kerim

[2025] NSWDC 325

Sexual offences

Citation: R v Kerim [2025] NSWDC 325
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 26 June 2025
Judge: Judge Haesler SC DCJ

Background

The offender pleaded guilty to four counts of bestiality under s 79 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), each carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment. The offences occurred across 2023 at a property on the NSW South Coast. Two further offences involving the production and dissemination of bestiality material (under s 547E(1) of the Crimes Act) were placed on a Form 1 to be taken into account on sentence for the principal matter.

In early 2024, the offender sought guidance from church elders and then attended a police station voluntarily, making full admissions to all offences before any investigation had commenced. His then wife was also charged with related offences arising from the same events; she has pleaded not guilty and her trial is forthcoming. The offender made a further statement to police and gave an undertaking to give evidence at his wife's trial.

Both the Crown and defence accepted that the objective seriousness of the individual offences required a custodial sentence of some length. The central sentencing question was the form that sentence should take, given the significant subjective features in the offender's favour.

  • What is the objective seriousness of bestiality offences under s 79 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), particularly in the context of a 14-year maximum penalty fixed in the last century?
  • How should Form 1 offences under s 547E(1) (producing and disseminating bestiality material) affect the sentence for the principal offence?
  • What sentence reductions are warranted for an early guilty plea, voluntary disclosure of otherwise unknown offending, past assistance to police, and a future undertaking to give evidence at a co-accused's trial?
  • Whether the aggregate sentence should be served by way of intensive correction order (ICO) in the community rather than full-time custody.

Decision

Objective seriousness and the maximum penalty

Judge Haesler noted that the 14-year maximum for bestiality was fixed in the last century and observed, citing Markarian v The Queen, that a maximum penalty's relevance varies significantly depending on its age and context. His Honour accepted the observation from R v PW [2019] NSWDC 963 that the maximum for bestiality appearing higher than historical maxima for child indecent assault reflects how community attitudes toward sexual abuse of children have changed dramatically. The court assessed each individual offence as falling below the mid-range of objective seriousness, but still serious enough to require a custodial response.

Form 1 matters

The s 547E(1) offences (recording and exchanging images between the offender and his wife) were taken into account on the Form 1 for Sequence 2. The court noted that the images were not intended for broader distribution, having been produced for the couple's private use. Accordingly, the Form 1 matters warranted only a modest uplift, with the emphasis placed on personal deterrence rather than retribution.

Sentence reductions

The court applied a 25% reduction to each indicated sentence for the early guilty plea, reflecting its utilitarian value under s 25D of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). A further 20% reduction was applied under s 23(4) of the same Act: 10% for past assistance to police (voluntary attendance, immediate admissions, and a statement to be used at his wife's trial) and 10% for future assistance (the undertaking to give evidence at the forthcoming trial). The court drew on R v Cartwright and Mill v The Queen in noting that sentence reductions for assistance recognise both the risk of reprisal to those who give evidence against others and the community interest in encouraging such cooperation.

Form of sentence

Starting points were 1 year and 8 months for Sequences 1, 4, and 5, and 1 year and 10 months for Sequence 2 (inclusive of the Form 1 matters). After the reductions, the indicated sentences were 11 months for each of Sequences 1, 4, and 5, and 1 year for Sequence 2. The aggregate sentence was fixed at 15 months imprisonment, to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order (ICO). The court emphasised that the sentence needed both to reflect community condemnation of the conduct and to support rehabilitation, noting that the offender had good character, no prior convictions, demonstrated genuine remorse, and was unlikely to reoffend.

Orders Made

  • Aggregate sentence of 15 months imprisonment, commencing 26 June 2025, to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order (ICO).
  • Standard ICO condition: no further offences; breach may result in full-time custody for the balance of the term.
  • Offender to report to Tweed Heads Community Corrections within seven days.
  • Six special conditions:
  • 200 hours of community service work.
  • Participation in a sex offender assessment from Community Corrections.
  • Participation in sex offender rehabilitation programs as directed.
  • Continued engagement with a psychologist as directed.
  • Regular home visits and prior approval for any change of address.
  • Authorisation of third-party checks with service providers and family members.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court confirmed that bestiality offences under s 79 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) attract a custodial sentence as a matter of course, with general deterrence and community condemnation among the most significant sentencing considerations.
  • Voluntary attendance at a police station, immediate admissions, and cooperation with an investigation into a co-accused can together attract meaningful sentence reductions, allocated separately as past assistance (here 10%) and future assistance (here 10%) under s 23(4) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).
  • Where recordings of the principal offending were produced solely for the private use of those involved and not for wider distribution, the corresponding Form 1 offences under s 547E(1) warrant only a modest increase to the sentence for the principal offence.
  • An aggregate custodial sentence may still be served by way of an ICO where the combination of an early plea, strong subjective features including good character, genuine remorse, and a low likelihood of reoffending, and significant cooperation with authorities brings the case within that range.
  • The 14-year maximum penalty for bestiality, which pre-dates contemporary sentencing norms, was treated as providing limited guidance in the specific circumstances of this case, consistent with the approach endorsed in Markarian v The Queen.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 79, 547E(1)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 21A(2)(f), 23(4), 25D

Cases
- Cook v R [2025] NSWCCA 96
- Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194
- Markarian v The Queen [2005] HCA 25; (2005) 228 CLR 357
- Mill v The Queen [1988] HCA 70; (1988) 166 CLR 59
- R v Cartwright (1989) 17 NSWLR 243
- R v Chesworth [2003] NSWCCA 115
- R v Daetz [2003] NSWCCA 316
- R v Geddes (1936) 36 SR (NSW) 554
- R v Holyoak (1995) 82 A Crim R 502
- R v Pullen [2018] NSWCCA 264
- R v PW [2019] NSWDC 963
- R v Wilson (2003) 139 A Crim R 398
- Stanley v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2023] HCA 3