Director of Public Prosecutions v Abdou
[2019] VCC 1635
•8 October 2019
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-18-02623
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| MOUHAMED ABDOU KAMA BONGIORNO |
---
| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE LAURITSEN |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 19 September 2019 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 8 October 2019 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Abdou & Anor |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2019] VCC 1635 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms N. Burnett | |
| For Accused Abdou | Ms H. Anderson | |
| For Accused Bongiorno | Ms N. Allison |
HIS HONOUR:
1In Mr Abdou's case, I propose to impose a sentence of four years overall and set a non-parole period of two years and obviously credit the 600 days he has already served. In relation to Ms Bongiorno, I will set an overall sentence of two years. I will set a non-parole period of one year and I will credit the 236 days of pre-sentence detention.
2It means, in relation to both of them, that they spend another just over four months in custody before the possibility of parole arises. It does not mean, of course, that they necessarily will be given parole by the Adult Parole Board, but that possibility arises.
3I will give you these reasons. On 19 September, Mouhamed Abdou pleaded guilty to a total of 29 charges, being charges of burglary, theft, attempted theft, handling stolen goods, possessing a firearm as a prohibited person, obtaining property by deception, driving dangerously while pursued by police and possessing drugs of dependence. These offences occurred over a short period between 25 January of last year and 15 February last year and they started about two months after you, Mr Abdou, had been released from prison.
4Kama Bongiorno, on the same day, pleaded guilty to 11 charges comprising burglaries, thefts, retention of stolen goods, obtaining property by deception, attempting to obtain property by deception and also possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.
5At the relevant time, the maximum penalties for the major offences were:
a)Burglary was ten years' imprisonment,
b)Theft was the same,
c)Obtaining property by deception was the same,
d)Being a prohibited person and possessing a firearm had a fine of up to 1200 penalty units or ten years' imprisonment and,
e)Dangerous driving whilst being pursued by police had three years' imprisonment as a maximum.
Circumstances
27 January 2018
6The circumstances were these. On 27 January last year, at about 4.30 in the afternoon a woman called Margaret Sedgman entered an address in Greensborough. She found the contents of that house strewn over the floor and noticed that a 2014 Volkswagen Golf sedan was missing. She advised the owner of the sedan, whose name was Daniel Sedgman, of its theft and the theft of this car is in fact Charge 1 against you, Mr Abdou.
1 February 2018
7On 1 February of last year, Ms Bongiorno and others broke into a home of a man called Wilson. Initially, you and those others sought to enter the home by kicking in a garage door. However, the presence of a dog prevented entry through the garage so a bedroom window was opened through the use of a jemmy bar. The home itself was then ransacked and jewellery and belongings of Mr Wilson were stolen. The burglary and theft charges are Charges 1 and 2 against you, Ms Bongiorno.
8Also on 1 February last year, a 2009 Toyota Camry was parked outside its owner’s home in Kalkallo and you, Mr Abdou, drove by in another car, stopped that car and got out with an unidentified female. You tried to enter the car but could not, and Charge 2 relates to your attempt to steal from it.
9Several doors down from where the Camry was parked was another parked car, a Nissan Navara, and it was broken into and you stole a spare car key for another car, a Ford Territory. This comprises Charge 3 against you. You then used the key to steal the Ford Territory, which comprises Charge 4 against you.
10On 16 December the year before, that is, 2017, another person hired an Audi Q5 sedan from Hertz Car Rental at Melbourne Airport. By 2 February of 2018 it had not been returned and this is well beyond its period of hire and thus when it was stolen. You, Mr Abdou, were driving this car on 2 February 2018 and this comprises Charge 5 against you.
2 February 2018
11As I have just said, on 2 February 2018, you were driving the Audi Q5 in Craigieburn. You stopped the car in the driveway of a Country Fire Authority training centre and entered another car, a Mitsubishi Lancer, which had stopped briefly and you stole it by driving it away. This comprises Charge 6.
12Two members of Victoria Police force attended the scene of this training centre. They searched the Audi Q5 and found and seized many items. Their description, that is the description of these items, forms part of the items set out in Schedule A to Charge 29. That is a charge against you, Mr Abdou, of dishonest retention of goods between 2 and 15 February 2018 and at various places in Melbourne.
5 February 2018
13On 5 February 2018, again you, Mr Abdou, entered a Holden Omega, parked in the driveway of a commercial premises in Campbellfield. It belonged to the business at that premises. Despite an employee telling you to get out of the car, you started its engine and drove it away and this comprises Charge 7.
9 February 2018
14On 9 February, again you, Mr Abdou, stole a Holden Rodeo utility at a service station while its owner was paying for the fuel he had just bought and this comprises Charge 8. The car contained a passport, wallet, money, two credit cards, a driver's licence and three sets of keys and those items comprise Charge 9.
10 February 2018
15On the next day, 10 February, you, Ms Bongiorno, received one of the credit cards, a bank card, and that comprises Charge 3 against you. You then used it five times in quick succession. With three of the transactions you made purchases while the last two were declined. Each of these transactions represent a charge. The values of the items bought by you were relatively small, $54.85, $75, $75 again, and the value of the unsuccessful transactions were $89.35 and $54.85. In truth, Charge 7 in respect of the unsuccessful transaction alleges only one of those two transactions. I will sentence you on the basis of that one.
12 February 2018
16In the early hours of 12 February last year, you, Mr Abdou, drove to the premises of a business called “Star Track” in Whittlesea. With another person, you entered those premises using a five-digit access code and stole mail parcels. Those events comprise Charges 19 and 20 against you.
17In the early afternoon of the same day, 12 February, you, Mr Abdou, and others used a jemmy bar to open the rear door of a home in Plenty and you stole jewellery and personal belongings and those events comprise Charges 10 and 11 against you.
18Not much later on the same day, you, Mr Abdou, and someone else entered another house in Plenty by using a jemmy bar to open a rear door. This comprises Charge 12. You stole a wallet containing bank cards, identification documents, three computers, shotgun ammunition, jewellery, tools and car keys. These items comprise Charge 13. You also stole a 12 gauge Baikel under and over shotgun and this comprises Charge 14.
19On the same day, Ms Bongiorno, you received a bank card and a driver’s licence and this comprises Charge 8 against you. That evening, Mr Abdou, you used the bank card to make a small purchase from McDonald's in Campbellfield which comprises Charge 15 against you.
13 February 2018
20Early on the next morning, 13 February, you, Mr Abdou, drove to the rear of a chemist shop in Whittlesea and tried to gain entry by using a jemmy bar. You were unsuccessful. You then drove to the front of the shop, tried again, but were again unsuccessful, and these events comprise Charge 16.
21Again, in the early hours of 13 February, you, Mr Abdou, drove the stolen utility to a service station in Whittlesea and used a jemmy bar to smash the glass front door but were unable to enter the building. This is Charge 17.
22Either shortly before or shortly after this attempted burglary, you went to an electrical store in Whittlesea and attempted to open the door with a jemmy bar but again were unsuccessful and this is Charge 18.
14 February 2018
23On 14 February, you, Mr Abdou, stole registration plates from a parked Nissan Navara utility in Greenvale. This is Charge 21.
15 February 2018
24In the early morning of the next day, 15 February, both of you, that is you,
Mr Abdou, and you, Ms Bongiorno, drove in the stolen utility to a factory in Preston. The vehicle was reversed into the factory's roller door, damaging it. Both of you entered the store or the factory and stole a cash register containing $165.30 in cash. The burglary and theft are Charges 22 and 23 against you, Mr Abdou, and Charges 9 and 10 against you, Ms Bongiorno.25Both of you drove away in the vehicle from the factory with Mr Abdou driving. Both attracted the attention of police by driving at speed along Station Street, driving erratically in Bell Street, again at speed in Sydney Road, going through an intersection against a red light and driving erratically in Sydney Road. Your vehicle entered the Western Ring Road and then the Tullamarine Freeway where it stopped because of road works. A police vehicle then collided with your vehicle. The police vehicle then followed you as you drove away activating its lights and sirens. Your vehicle drove into Western Avenue in Westmeadows and did a U turn and then it again collided with a police vehicle. Your vehicle reversed in an attempt to get away when another police vehicle rammed your vehicle preventing your escape. Charge 24 is the charge of driving dangerously while being pursued by police.
26Both of you tried to escape on foot but were arrested: Ms Bongiorno after being bitten by a police dog; and Mr Abdou after being subdued through the use of OC spray.
27A search of your vehicle found a sawn off double barrel shotgun and two shotgun cartridges. This is Charge 25 for you, Mr Abdou, and Charge 11 for you, Ms Bongiorno. That is, charges of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
28You, Mr Abdou, were taken to the Mill Park police station, searched, with police finding a deal bag containing a small amount of methylamphetamine. This is Charge 26. They also found a Xanax tablet and this is Charge 27.
29Neither of you were prepared or was prepared to be interviewed by the police.
30You, Mr Abdou, were searched again and in your anus the police found a small plastic bag containing methylamphetamine and this is Charge 28.
Priors: Mouhamed Abdou
31Turning to you, Mr Abdou, between May 2016 and February 2014, you have been to court on three occasions and were found guilty of a total of 100 charges or 100 offences. At your last appearance in court in May 2016, you were sentenced to two years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of one year. You were not paroled. The offences that you were sentenced on that occasion were somewhat similar to those which I am dealing with today.
32Mr Abdou, you are now 27 years of age. You were born in Melbourne and grew up in the Broadmeadows area. You have four brothers and two sisters and you are the eldest. The youngest is ten years old.
33You attended Upfield Primary School, completing Year 6. Unfortunately you were bullied at primary school due to your ethnicity and also the wearing of spectacles.
34You then went to Roscoe College and completed Year 7. At the end of Year 8, you were expelled after retaliating against another student who had bullied you.
35You then went to Broadmeadows High School and completed Year 9. However, you were still getting into trouble quite often so you decided to enter the workforce and enrolled at TAFE.
36At TAFE, you completed Certificates I and II in Automotive and started working in a butcher shop in Campbellfield and you worked there on a full time basis for about five years.
37In 2009, your father was involved in a car accident and suffered a serious injury to his back. This now disables him from working and he receives a disability support pension. While, in 2010, your mother suffered a brain aneurysm which severely disabled her then and still does now. She struggles to complete tasks on her own.
38In 2012, you left your full time job to become a carer for your parents. You were then 21 years old and assumed the responsibility both for caring for your parents and your younger brothers and sisters.
39These responsibilities were too much for you and you changed from using marijuana to using methylamphetamine. Apparently, you felt better after using methylamphetamine.
40In 2013, you were charged with possession of drugs. When your parents learned of your involvement with the police, they organised for you to go to Lebanon to stay with your mother's parents and for a period of six months. You had money saved from your job at the butcher shop and you paid for this trip yourself.
41You enjoyed your time in Lebanon and you did not use drugs while there. Unfortunately, a serious incident occurred. You were in a baker's shop one morning getting breakfast for your grandparents when another customer shot another person, a young man, in the back of the head. He died. You witnessed the dreadful incident which has led you to suffering from recognised mental illnesses.
42This incident also caused you to return to Australia and you resumed the use of drugs at an increased level. You saw your drug use as a means of escape, presumably from the memory of these events.
43You have been in a relationship with Ms Bongiorno for a period of about five years.
44In 2015, you were injured in a motor vehicle accident. You fell asleep at the wheel of a car you were driving and crashed. You fractured your left knee and also your chin. Surgery was required. Apparently, you have a serious injury claim on foot.
Substance abuse
45You were introduced to alcohol, cannabis and methylamphetamine by your workmates at the butcher shop. After your mother suffered her aneurysm your use of methylamphetamine became more regular, using it to manage your distress, in particular at the state of your mother. You have continued to use this drug. When taken into custody, you were using 1.7 grams daily, which is a large amount.
Mental health
46On 24 April of this year, a psychologist, Carla Ferrari, saw you at the request of your solicitors. She diagnosed you as suffering from recognised psychological disorders, a major depressive disorder. She also noted anxiety, together with a post-traumatic stress disorder. She noted that these had never been treated and that in fact you had used drugs to avoid or alleviate their symptoms. She also diagnosed you from suffering from an amphetamine-type use disorder which she said was in remission because you were in a controlled environment, namely, prison. She described the major depressive disorder as chronic and severe.
47According to Ms Ferrari, you have sufficient insight into the role your drug use has played in your offending and she said, 'Mr Abdou displays increased insight into the link between his mental state, his spiral into substance abuse and his offending behaviour'.[1]
[1] Paragraph 89.
48These diagnoses are caused in one way or another by the various traumas you have experienced.
49She says that the symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder and the major depressive disorder and anxiety continue to affect you in custody even though you are not using illicit drugs whilst in custody.
50In custody you are not receiving treatment in relation to these disorders or even any prescribed medicines.
Offending
51Your offences were committed, as I have said, soon after your release from prison. Following your release from prison you moved to Queensland for a new start with your then girlfriend. This only lasted one week after you learned she had been unfaithful to you while you had been in prison. You then returned to Melbourne.
52Your offending was financially motivated, primarily to feed your drug addiction.
53You were involved in many incidents, covering a range of offences occurring between 27 January and 15 February last year and you were arrested on 15 February.
Plea of guilty and remorse
54You indicated your intention to plead guilty to the charges at an early stage of this proceeding. In my view this is a plea of guilty entered at the earliest reasonable opportunity.
55The entering of your plea of guilty underlines your regret for your actions and your willingness to accept responsibility for them. During discussions with Ms Ferrari, she noted you had reflected on your actions and expressed genuine remorse, guilt and shame. It also meant a large number of witnesses were not required to give evidence. I counted 82 witnesses on the indictment.
Mental Health
56Through your counsel you do not rely on propositions one, three or four set out in the case of R v Verdins because of your drug use at the time of the offences and in the past.
57However, your impaired mental functioning attracts the operation of propositions five and six of that case. Imprisonment would be more onerous for you than for another person in normal health; and would have a significant adverse effect on your mental health.
58Proposition two of that case also applies to you. That is, your mental condition may have a bearing on the kind of sentences imposed and the conditions in which it should be served.
Prospects of rehabilitation
59Ms Ferrari believes you need intensive psychological intervention and targeted and consistent drug and alcohol counselling. She describes your risk of reoffending as ‘low’ if these areas are addressed.
60You have remained drug free while in custody, have completed a drug and alcohol program and have enrolled in a further program since moving to Barwon Prison where you are currently working in its kitchen.
Relative Youth
61At the time of the offences, you were 27 years old and your relative youth is a factor to be considered.
Totality
62Your counsel made the point, as did Ms Bongiorno's counsel made the point, in relation to totality and in the case of R v Cao, which is unreported, [2018] VSCA 98 at paragraph 57 the Court of Appeal said of the totality principle[2]:
“The totality principle imposes a final duty on the sentencing judge to ensure that the totality of consecutive sentences is not excessive. The principle requires the sentencing judge to stand back and assess not just the individual sentences but also to review the aggregate sentence and consider whether the aggregate properly reflects the degree of criminality involved and is ‘just and appropriate’ and ‘not excessive'”.
[2] [2018] VSCA 98 at [57].
General and specific deterrence, denunciation, just punishment
63The offending is unquestionably serious and is worthy of denunciation, punishment and deterrence. General deterrence here is an important sentencing factor.
64Specific deterrence is also important. It is less so for you but due to the remorse you have shown and to the use you have made of your time on remand. This means you will try not to re-offend when you are released from prison.
65Protection of the community is relevant, though ultimately, as your counsel pointed out, the community is best protected by your rehabilitation and not re-offending.
Rehabilitation
66You have spent the better part of your 20s involved in the criminal justice system. You are still relatively young and have demonstrated some insight into your offending and have set out how you would like to live your life in the future.
Sentence
67Your counsel submitted I should do one of two things by way of sentence:
(a) impose a combination sentence of a period of imprisonment of up to 12 months in addition to what you have already served in combination with a lengthy and onerous community correction order; or
(b) impose a sentence of imprisonment with a lengthy parole period to assist your rehabilitation.
68In relation to (b), I am conscious of the prohibition preventing me from having regard to any possibility or likelihood that the length of time you actually spend in custody will be affected by the decision in this instance of the Adult Parole Board[3].
[3] S 5(2AA)(a) of the Sentencing Act 1991.
69After considering all of the relevant factors, submission (a) is inappropriate because the appropriate head sentence in this case will be too long for what was submitted to me. There is merit in the submission (b), particularly because of your remorse and insight into the causes of your offending.
70As I said at the outset, overall, I will sentence you to four years' imprisonment and I will set a non-parole period of two years.
71I declare 600 days of pre-sentence detention and for completeness for the purposes of s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I declare that save for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you to six years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and seven months.
72Turning to the individual sentences on the charges and I have accumulated or partially accumulated sentences in many of the cases:
a) Charge 1 will be a sentence of 12 months. This will be the base sentence. I assume you do not hold a licence to drive a motor vehicle in which case I will disqualify you from holding a licence or permit to drive a motor vehicle for 12 months.
b) Charge 2 will be six months and a disqualification for 12 months.
c) Charge 3 will be six months.
d) Charge 4 will be 12 months, two months of which I am accumulating and there will be a licence disqualification for 12 months.
e) Charge 5 is 12 months with two months cumulated and a licence disqualification of 12 months.
f) Charge 6 will be 12 months with two months cumulated and a licence disqualification of 12 months.
g) Charge 7 will be 12 months, two months cumulated, and a licence disqualification of 12 months.
h) Charge 8 will be 12 months, again two months cumulated and disqualification for 12 months.
i) Charge 9 will be 12 months.
j) Charge 10 will be 18 months with three months cumulated.
k) Charge 11 will be 18 months.
l) Charge 12 will be 18 months with three months cumulated.
m) Charges 13 and 14 will be 18 months each.
n) Charge 15 will be six months.
o) Charge 16 will be 18 months with two months cumulated. The same applies for 17 and 18.
p) Charge 19 will be 18 months with three months cumulated.
q) Charge 20 will be 18 months.
r) Charge 21, 18 months.
s) Charge 22, 18 months and three months cumulated.
t) Charge 23 will be 18 months.
u) Charge 24 will be 12 months with two months cumulated and a licence disqualification of 12 months.
v) Charge 25 will be 18 months with three months cumulated.
w) Charge 26 will be one month.
x) Charge 27, 14 days.
y) Charge 28, one month.
z) And finally Charge 29, 18 months with three months cumulated.
73In addition, Mr Abdou, eight summary charges were transferred from the Magistrates' Court to be dealt with by this court and they arose out of the circumstances I have already described. In the notice of related summary offences, each charge is given a number, which is the number given to them by the police informant who laid the charges against you originally:
a)On Charge 36, using the police numbers, you will be sentenced to one month.
b)On Charge 37, one month, and
c)the combination of Charges 39 and 44, you will be fined with conviction $500.
d)On Charge 40, one month.
e)Charge 41, one month.
f)Charge 62, one month, and
g)Charge 69, one month.
74The sentences of imprisonment that I have imposed for those summary offences will be served concurrently with any other sentence I have imposed and the fine itself I will refer to Fines Victoria for it to collect that money from you in due course.
Kama Bongiorno
75Turning to you, Kama Bongiorno, you are now 28 years of age and you were 27 at the time of committing these offences last year.
76You were arrested at about the same time as Mr Abdou on 15 February and you have remained in custody ever since. However, during that time, you served a sentence of 11 months by way of the restoration of a suspended sentence of imprisonment and this occurred in October of last year. As of today, you have 236 days in custody relating to these offences. Your counsel has raised the issue of totality of these sentences and as you have already heard, I have stated the principles I must apply regarding that particular principle.
Gravity of the offending conduct
77Your offences were committed while you were the subject of a drug treatment order imposed on 11 December of 2017. These offences occurred over, as I have said, a short period of time in January and February of last year.
78Your counsel submitted in relation to the burglaries that although there was some level of organisation, they were not particularly sophisticated or complex and to a degree I agree with that submission.
79In relation to the charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, your counsel submits that although you were aware of its presence and the presence of a firearm in the vehicle, you did not handle it and I accept that submission.
80In relation to the charges of handling stolen goods, obtaining property by deception and attempting to obtain property by deception, your counsel submits these offences were opportunistic and the total value of dishonesty falls at the lower end of the scale and, again, it was a lack of sophistication in relation to these offences and I accept those submissions as well.
Plea of guilty and remorse
81Like Mr Abdou, I treat your pleas of guilty as having been made at an early opportunity.
Psychological report and supporting material
82On 22 April of this year, you were seen by a well-known psychologist, Aaron Cunningham, and in his report he expressed these opinions:
a)Firstly, that you suffer from a Borderline Personality Disorder. His diagnosis of that disorder in respect to you is the first time you have in fact been diagnosed with that disorder. He described the disorder as a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions combined with a significant impulsivity.
b)Your Borderline Personality Disorder symptoms of impulsivity and emotional instability contribute to your reckless and self-destructive behaviour;
c)You lacked a supportive emotional relationship with either of your parents and you still have feelings of abandonment and rejection. You have taken to drug abuse and gambling as forms of escape and these have continued your instability and led to your offending.
d)While in custody you have detoxed from drugs, are complying with the medicines prescribed to you and are engaged with support services;
e)According to Dr Cunningham, your mental health or this condition cannot be effectively treated in prison. He believes that you will need significant mental health case management and support in the community. He does not believe counselling will be enough for you to manage your mental health. He says that you would struggle to live independently and access treatment on your own. He recommends you undertake individual therapy to teach you skills to tolerate distress, control your emotions and communicate successfully with others. He also recommends drug and alcohol treatment to support your abstinence.
83Both Dr Cunningham in his report and your counsel in her submissions drew my attention to these matters about you personally:
a) Your mother was 19 years old when you were born and until recently you did not have a good relationship with her. Your mother preferred her relationship with other men over you.
b) You did not know your father.
c) You were placed in the care of your mother's mother, your maternal grandmother, shortly after your birth and you had a great relationship with your maternal grandmother.
d) You have three younger step-siblings, now aged 16, 14 and eight.
e) You left school at the age of 17 when you were half way through Year 11, which is a pity since you are of reasonable intelligence.
f) Nevertheless, you were employed at Telstra, Origin Energy and Energy Australia and at Energy Australia, you were a team leader, which is a responsible position.
g) Your grandmother became ill in 2010 and died in 2011.
h) Just before your grandmother's death, your mother evicted you from your grandmother's home, saying she wanted to care for your grandmother and not wanting you present. You became homeless then and really have remained so. You couch surf. With her death, that is your grandmother's death, your drug use has increased significantly.
i) You started using cannabis at 14 years of age on weekends, and then ecstasy and amphetamines from about 16 and methylamphetamine and GHB from about 18.
j) You started using, or abusing, rather, prescription drugs, specifically Xanax, in about 2013.
k) In September of 2013, you were admitted to Austin Hospital under s.10 of the Mental Health Act and remained there as an inpatient for about two months.
l) Prior to being remanded, you too were using up to a gram of methylamphetamine each day which again is a high level of usage.
m) While in custody, you have been prescribed anti-psychotic medicine.
n) You have an extensive history of self-harm, starting at the age of 16 and this took the form of cutting yourself or applying lit cigarettes to parts of your body.
Sentencing considerations
84Again, general and specific deterrence are relevant sentencing considerations in your case given the nature of the offences and your prior criminal history, however they should not lead to the imposition of a disproportionate or crushing sentence by me.
Rehabilitation
85Your counsel submits your prospects for rehabilitation remain attainable and that was her word. She submits those prospects would be improved if you can continue the progress you made while in custody and, following your release from prison, abstain from using illicit drugs and not to abuse prescription medication.
86Your counsel pointed to certain matters which will aid your rehabilitation, and in particular:
a) You have reconciled with your mother and have stable accommodation available to you upon your release from prison, and
b) you have remained drug free in custody, and
c) if you receive structured mental health support for case management, this certainly would benefit your rehabilitation.
87You have a consistent criminal history. You suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder. Strictly speaking, Dr Cunningham does not give a prognosis except to say that individual therapy could assist. When describing or defining the nature of that disorder, Dr Cunningham in fact quoted from an American text relating to mental disorders called 'The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'. In its fifth edition, the authors of that work say of Borderline Personality Disorder that “during their 30s and 40s the majority of individuals with the disorder obtain greater stability in their relationships and vocational functioning”. Accepting that as a correct proposition on the basis that in fact, implicitly, Dr Cunningham is referring to the same work, I am of the view that there is some significant prospect for your rehabilitation.
Pending matter
88I have been told of your recent sentencing in the Magistrates' Court at Broadmeadows and its effect on your pre-sentence detention.
Sentence
89Going to the individual offences:
a)On Charge 1, you will be sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and that will be a base sentence;
b)Charge 2, 18 months;
c)Charge 3, two months;
d)Charges 4, 5, 6 and 7, two months;
e)Charge 8, two months;
f)Charge 9, 18 months with three months cumulated;
g)Charge 10, 18 months;
h)Charge 11, nine months with three months cumulated.
90That is a total of 24 months and, as I have said, I will fix a non-parole period of 12 months and I will credit 236 days as time already served.
91For the purposes of s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, I declare that save for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 36 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 18 months.
92I am not sure whether you are seeking - I presume you are seeking various disposal orders, are you not?
93MS BURNETT: Yes, Your Honour. There is a disposal order in respect to the drugs and also a forfeiture order in respect of the shotgun and the cartridges.
94HIS HONOUR: I assume that those orders are not opposed?
95MS ANDERSON: No, Your Honour.
96HIS HONOUR: Is there anything that I have not covered that anyone at the Bar table would like me to cover?
97MS BURNETT: No, Your Honour.
98MS ANDERSON: No, Your Honour.
99HIS HONOUR: Do either of counsel for the accused want a moment to go back and speak to their clients about what has happened or are you proposing to see them downstairs?
100MS ANDERSON: I might take that opportunity, Your Honour, thank you.
101MS ALLISON: I will as well, thank you, Your Honour.
102MS BURNETT: Your Honour, draft ancillary orders were e-lodged this morning but I do have hard copies in court.
103HIS HONOUR: Perhaps I should have a look at those.
104MS BURNETT: Certainly, Your Honour.
105HIS HONOUR: I take it counsel for the accused have seen these documents, have you?
106MS ANDERSON: Yes, Your Honour.
107MS ALLISON: Yes, Your Honour.
108HIS HONOUR: I might add that the periods of disqualification are all running concurrently so the effective period is 12 months. What I will do now is have the court adjourned temporarily and that will enable my next case to come in and allow you to withdraw gracefully. Thank you for your assistance. You better remove the prisoners.
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