By Thomas Spohr -
Key decisions
- Rokovada v R [2025] NSWCCA 64
- NK v R [2025] NSWCCA 73
Rokovada v R [2025] NSWCCA 64
Sentencing – discounts for plea of guilty – offers made at committal – ineligibility for discount where plea was available to be entered but not actually entered in court
In this important decision, the Court of Criminal Appeal (‘CCA’) held a mere offer to plead guilty at committal may not secure a 25 per cent discount if accepted later by the Crown, where the plea could have been entered to existing charges but wasn’t formally made in court.
The applicant was charged with sex offences. During the committal phase, he made a counter-offer to plead guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent on a specified factual basis. This counter-offer was rejected by the Crown when the matter was in the Local Court but later accepted at a ‘Super Call-over’, on a basis that was materially identical to the applicant’s counter-offer.