AUSTRALIA
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The Royal Commission is likely to consider, if not recommend, tightening up the laws for misprision of a felony (covering up for a crime). What it not as likely to be considered will be just what penalties should apply.
One of the problems in sentencing of historical sexual abuse cases is that it is based on the norms for the time of the offence, not of the time of conviction. This leads many people to be disappointed at the punishment meted out to their abusers.
Penalties for cover-ups must reflect current standards, not those at the time of the cover-up, otherwise even more people will be left with the burden of disappointment and disillusionment. If an actual cover-up occurred for an event in 1980, but was not revealed until 2010, then it must be the standards of 2010 which apply, not those of 1980. Clearly, a range of penalties will apply depending on the extent, and consequences, of a particular cover-up.
Lawyers for the offenders will surely try it on with regards to the differential sentencing for cover-ups, as they do in all criminal cases. Be sure to see leniency pleas based on factors such as not being aware of the effects on victims of child abuse, or appeals to “standards and processes of the time”.
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