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District Court 24 July 2026

R v Fisher

[2026] NSWDC 324

Sexual offences
SENTENCING INDECENT ASSAULT HISTORICAL OFFENDING

Citation: R v Fisher [2026] NSWDC 324
Court: District Court of NSW
Date: 24 July 2026
Judge(s): Conlon SC ADCJ

Background

An 81-year-old man pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault of a male person under the now-repealed s 81 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), each carrying a maximum of five years' imprisonment. The offending occurred between 1967 and 1970 and involved a single complainant who was aged 11 to 14 at the time. The offender was then aged 22 to 25 and worked as a supervisor and group leader at a church-affiliated youth club in Lakemba.

The offending across the three sequences included fondling the complainant during an overnight camping trip, touching him in a car while driving him home, and showering with him at the offender's home while washing and measuring his body. A fourth charge was placed on a Form 1 schedule (meaning it was taken into account on sentence without a separate conviction). The complainant did not disclose the abuse publicly until decades later, and police attended the offender's address as recently as February 2025.

The offender's only prior criminal record was from 1971, when he pleaded guilty to five charges of indecent assault involving four different complainants, all from the same youth club, and served concurrent 12-month terms of hard labour. In the 1971 police interview, he had admitted to assaulting approximately ten boys over eight years, indicating that the present offending likely fell within those admissions.

  • The appropriate sentence for historical indecent assault offending committed more than 56 years ago
  • Whether the present offending should be treated as having been effectively the subject of general admissions in the 1971 proceedings, and the significance of that for sentencing
  • The weight to be given to the offender's advanced age, rehabilitation, health, and remorse
  • Whether imprisonment was required or whether a non-custodial alternative was appropriate
  • The applicable registration period under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW)

Decision

Objective seriousness: The court assessed each sequence individually. Sequence 1 (the camping trip) fell within about the mid-range for offences of its type, given the complainant's vulnerability away from home and that he was made to reciprocate the touching. Sequence 2 (the car incidents) fell below mid-range. Sequence 3 (the home incident involving showering, washing, and measuring) was assessed at about mid-range, given the more prolonged nature of the conduct and that it occurred in the offender's home. All three sequences were aggravated by the offender's abuse of a position of trust and authority.

The 1971 admissions: Defence counsel submitted that the present offending was in substance the same as the conduct the offender admitted to in 1971, and that had police investigated those admissions further, these charges would likely have been included in the matters dealt with at the time. The court engaged with this submission in its sentencing reasoning, treating it as relevant to the offender's subjective case and the overall assessment of the appropriate sentence.

Subjective case: The court noted the offender's advanced age of 81, his otherwise law-abiding conduct over more than 55 years since the 1971 sentencing, his early guilty pleas (attracting a 25% discount), and his letter of apology. The court accepted that specific deterrence was not required, given the demonstrated rehabilitation, and that the offender presented no risk to the community. The complainant's victim impact statement was read to the court and was taken into account as required by s 25AA(3) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).

Custodial versus non-custodial sentence: Applying s 5 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, which requires a court to be satisfied that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate before imposing it, the court determined that community corrections orders were an appropriate alternative to full-time custody in all the circumstances of the case.

Orders Made

  • Sequence 1: Community corrections order for two years
  • Sequence 2: Community corrections order for 18 months (incorporating the Form 1 offence)
  • Sequence 3: Community corrections order for two years
  • All orders to run concurrently
  • Each order subject to conditions of good behaviour, no further offences, and an obligation to appear before the court if called upon
  • Registration as a registrable person under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW) for a period of eight years (the three offences treated as a single offence for registration purposes under ss 2E and 3I(1)(a))

Key Takeaways

  • Where an offender made broad admissions to related offending in earlier proceedings, and where the present charges likely fell within those admissions, sentencing courts may treat that history as relevant to the appropriate weight to give to the current offending as a discrete criminal episode.
  • A 25% guilty plea discount applied where pleas were entered in the Local Court, consistent with the established discount framework under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act.
  • Sustained law-abiding conduct over more than five decades can satisfy a sentencing court that specific deterrence and community protection need not be significant factors in the sentencing exercise.
  • The District Court held that, even for serious historical sexual offending against a child, community corrections orders remain available where the totality of circumstances, including advanced age, rehabilitation, remorse, and the nature of the prior related punishment, renders imprisonment unnecessary.
  • Under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW), multiple convictions arising from a course of conduct treated as a single offence for registration purposes produce a single registration period, here eight years, rather than cumulative or extended periods.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW)
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)

Cases
- Liu v R [2023] NSWCCA 30
- Markarian v R [2005] HCA 25
- R v Hathaway [2005] NSWCCA 368
- R v Obbens [2022] NSWCCA 109
- R v Shorten [2005] NSWCCA 106
- R v Todd [1982] 2 NSWLR 517
- Richards v R [2023] NSWCCA 107