Attorney-General (Qld) v Turnbull

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Attorney-General (Qld) v Turnbull [2014] QSC 132

PARTIES:

ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF QUEENSLAND
(applicant)
v
GARY UNE TURNBULL
(respondent)

FILE NO:

3675 of 2014

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Dangerous prisoner application

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court of Queensland

DELIVERED ON:

13 June 2014

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

10 June 2014

JUDGE:

Boddice J

ORDER:

The Court, being satisfied to the requisite standard that the Respondent, Gary Une Turnbull, is a serious danger to the community in the absence of an order made pursuant to Division 3 of the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act2003 (Qld) orders that:

1. Pursuant to s 13(5)(1) of the Act, the Respondent, be detained in custody for an indefinite term of control, care or treatment.

CATCHWORDS:

CRIMINAL LAW – SENTENCE – SENTENCING ORDERS – ORDERS AND DECLARATIONS RELATING TO SERIOUS OR VIOLENT OFFENDERS OR DANGEROUS SEXUAL OFFENDERS – DANGEROUS SEXUAL OFFENDER – GENERALLY – where the offender is a violent sexual offender – where application is made for the continued detention or, alternatively, release subject to supervision orders of the offender – whether the offender is a serious danger to the community – whether the offender poses an unacceptable risk of reoffending – whether conditions imposed under a supervision order would render the offender’s risk of reoffending acceptable

Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act2003 (Qld)

COUNSEL:

M Maloney for the applicant

A Nelson for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Crown Law for the applicant
Alexander Law for the respondent

1. The Attorney-General for the State of Queensland makes application, pursuant to the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act2003 (Qld) (“the Act”), for orders for the continued detention or, alternatively, release subject to supervision orders of the Respondent, Gary Une Turnbull. At issue is whether the Respondent represents a serious danger to the community and, if so, whether the risk to the community can be rendered acceptable by the imposition of a supervision order under the Act.

Background

1. The Respondent was born on 4 March 1974.  He is presently 40 years of age.  He has been incarcerated since June 2002 when he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for three offences of rape, one offence of attempted rape, two offences of assault with intent to rape, two offences of indecent assault, an offence of assault occasioning bodily harm and an offence of robbery with personal violence.

1. The Respondent’s release date from that sentence of imprisonment was 14 June 2021.  However, on 19 June 2013 the Court of Appeal granted the Respondent’s application for an extension of time to appeal against those sentences.  The ground of appeal was that the sentences were manifestly excessive.  On 13 December 2013 the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in relation to the three counts of rape only, and substituted shorter sentences of imprisonment in respect of those counts.  The consequence of those orders was that the Respondent’s full term release date became 14 June 2014, seven years earlier.

Index offences

1. Prior to being convicted in 2002, the…