Our client pleaded guilty to sexual offences carrying up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Through early strategic negotiations highlighting the comparative immaturity of the young adult offender [18] with the 15 year old child and other unique facts surrounding the offending, Manny Conditsis & Kayla Nielsen secured the prosecution remaining in the Local Court jurisdiction.
Manny & Kayla then undertook extensive sentencing preparation to present the strongest possible case on our client’s behalf. This included obtaining detailed psychological evidence linking the offending to underlying mental health issues of our client and the immaturity at the time of offending.
Prosecutors, agreed that our client should not receive a custodial sentence.
Whilst that made the job of avoiding prison easier, the Prosecutor called for a criminal conviction to be recorded, however, passionate advocacy by Manny Conditsis persuaded the Judge, not only, to not impose a prison sentence but to finalise the matter without the imposition of a criminal conviction.
At the sentence hearing, Manny and Kayla made the forensic decision to call our client, now 27 to give evidence demonstrating genuine remorse, insight into their conduct, and substantial personal growth since the offending. Our team argued for and advanced a compelling subjective case, emphasising rehabilitation, low risk of reoffending, and the disproportionate impact a conviction would have on the client’s future.
Despite the objective seriousness of the offences, the Court accepted our team’s submissions and imposed a Conditional Release Order without conviction on all charges.
This was a life-changing outcome, protecting our client’s future and chosen career pathway, and avoided the client being placed on the Child Offender’s Register.
This matter highlights the importance of early negotiation, thorough preparation, and carefully structured and passionate advocacy in achieving exceptional outcomes, even in the most serious cases. There is no doubt that the result achieved for our client turned on our “leave no stone unturned” ethos.
