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	Most Child Sex Offenders First-Timers By Selma Milovanovic The Age March 20, 2009 http://www.theage.com.au/national/most-child-sex-offenders-firsttimers-20090319-93fu.html INVESTMENT in tracking sex offenders is misdirected as almost all people charged with sexual offences against children aged 10-16 have no prior convictions for sex offences, Victoria's sentencing experts say. The Sentencing Advisory Council is seeking submissions on the adequacy of maximum penalties for sexual penetration of children under 16. Attorney-General Rob Hulls asked the council to review laws after Stephen Maurice, 32, was jailed for nine years for molesting a girl who had turned 10 less than two weeks before the offence. Sexual penetration of a child under 10 attracts a maximum 25-year jail term. If the victim is aged 10-16, the maximum term is 10 years. Offenders who sexually penetrate children aged 10-16 under their care, supervision or authority — such as a teacher or a priest — can be jailed for 15 years. Figures to be released today by the council show that in the two years to June 2008, 93 per cent of sexual offenders whose victims were aged 10-16 had not previously committed sexual offences. Meanwhile, 22 per cent of sexual offenders who attacked children aged under 10 had prior sex convictions. Council chairman Arie Freiberg said the figures reflected long-standing national and overseas trends, despite the public viewing sex offenders as recidivist predators. "The sex offender registration and notification laws — the huge investment we are putting into those — is probably misdirected," he said. Professor Freiberg said the national sex offenders register ensured convicted offenders were identified and prevented from being near or working with children. "But most of the people convicted don't have a prior record, so no amount of monitoring or registration would have caught these people." Only half the offenders sentenced for sexual penetration of children aged 10-16 — the most common child sex offence — received immediate jail terms. But Professor Freiberg said the judges would have taken into account the fact that half of these offenders were aged under 24 and most had no relevant prior convictions. But he said he was surprised to find that the highest jail term for multiple sexual penetration of children under 10 was 18 years and not closer to 27 years — a jail term given for rape. Mr Hulls said the State Government was "taking action to ensure the sentencing options in Victoria reflect community expectations. We will review the maximum penalties in light of any issues raised by the council in its final report." Public submissions close on May 1, with details available on the council's website.
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