Sentencing for sexual assault and publication of intimate images without consent arising from images and video of an incapacitated complainant being circulated through a social media group.
The court treated the offences as serious and emphasized denunciation and deterrence, particularly because the complainant was defenceless and the conduct caused lasting humiliation and community stigma.
The central issue was whether the offender's profound intellectual disability materially reduced moral culpability.
Relying on a detailed assessment and sentencing authorities on cognitive impairment, the court found a strong causal link between the offender's deficits and the offending, and concluded that a conditional sentence could still satisfy the objectives of sentencing if coupled with lengthy house arrest, curfew, no-contact, and treatment conditions.
