Director of Public Prosecutions v Anu

[2025] VCC 1347

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MILDURA

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
 Suitable for Publication

Case No. CR-25-00760

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

V

STEWART ANU

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE CARLIN
WHERE HELD:	Mildura
DATE OF HEARING:	8 September 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	15 September 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Anu
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 1347

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:Criminal law 

Catchwords:   Assault emergency worker on duty – assault custodial worker on duty – causing injury recklessly – possess cannabis – plea of guilty – Aboriginal offender

Legislation Cited:  Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)

Cases Cited:Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571; R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102

Sentence:  Total effective sentence of 10 months imprisonment.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr D. O’Doherty	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms J. Swiney	Slades & Parsons

HER HONOUR:

Introduction[1]

[1] Summary based on the agreed facts set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening and marked as Exhibit A.

1Stewart Anu, on 8 September 2025 you pleaded guilty before me to one charge of causing injury recklessly, three charges of assaulting an emergency worker on duty, two charges of assaulting a custodial worker on duty, and one charge of possession of a drug of dependence.

2All the offences occurred on the same day, 30 October 2024, and in the context of you having been arrested and detained in the cells at Mildura police station. Needless to say, police who are working either as police officers or custodial officers and are just doing their job do not deserve to be treated as you did.  The vice in your behaviour is not just that it harms the individuals involved, but also that it affects society in general as it may make police and custodial officers less inclined to help vulnerable people in custody for fear of being spat at, bitten, kicked or assaulted generally.  

3All your offences, except the possession charge, carry a max penalty of five years' imprisonment, which in the scheme of maximum penalties that this court sees, is relatively low.  However, Charge 1, being the offence of causing injury recklessly, also carries a mandatory term of imprisonment of at least six months as your victim was an emergency worker unless a relevant exception is established, which in this case, after considering all the material, I am not satisfied is.  The possession charge is punishable by a maximum fine of five penalty units.

4Your counsel, Ms Swiney, conceded that a term of imprisonment was warranted although she submitted that the 313 days you had spent in custody as at the date of the plea was sufficient.  She also submitted that an exception to the mandatory minimum of six months was made out on account of your background and mental ill health.  The prosecution submitted only that an immediate custodial sentence was called for and that there was no relevant exception, your offending rather being due to your psychotic state on account of your consumption of methylamphetamine.

5In determining your sentence, the law requires me to have regard to a variety of factors which often pull in different directions.  Some tend towards leniency, and some point the other way.  No one factor automatically prevails over any other.  Rather, I must have regard to them all and give each the weight it deserves to arrive at a just sentence.

Circumstances of the offending

6First I need to outline the circumstances of your offending in more detail.  The following is taken from the agreed Summary of Prosecution Opening.[2]   

[2] Exhibit A on the plea

7In the morning of 30 October 2024 police attended a unit in Pasadena Grove in Mildura due to reports that a person was tipping fuel inside and had a knife.  The police found you holding a glass of petrol, a lighter and a knife but not acting violently.  A neighbour was comforting you and managed to take the knife from you whilst police took the petrol and lighter off you. At that time police formed the view that you were drug affected and confused. 

8They found 1.53 grams of cannabis on you (Charge 7), arrested you for possession of cannabis and took you to Mildura police station where you were placed in the cells.

9At about 10:25 am you began pushing the duress button in your cell and were seen to become increasingly agitated. You threw water around the cell and wet your blanket.

10Custodial officers opened the metal hatch to speak to you whereupon you put your arm through the hatch and refused to pull it back inside. You then began headbutting the wall causing a laceration to your head which bled. Sargeant Sweep informed you that the cell door would be opened to assist you with the injury and to remove your arm from the metal hatch.

11As soon as that happened you began to push your way out of the cell into the hallway, so Sargeant Sweep ordered custody officer Mouvet to discharge her capsicum spray, which she did. By this time, you were so out of control that the spray did not deter you.  Rather, you kept pushing your way out of your cell and fighting the officers. At one stage you dropped to your knees and grabbed at custody officer Mouvet's legs trying to pull her to the ground. You spat bloody saliva at the custody officers including Ms Mouvet and continued to kick and grab at them including Ms Mouvet until eventually you were subdued onto the ground. Your assault of Ms Mouvet is Charge 4 (assaulting a custodial officer on duty).

12When on the ground you twice tried to bite custody office Hughey on the leg, luckily without breaking his skin, also spat towards him and punched him to the chest.  As a result, Hughey had blood splatter on his arm, a slight left thumb sprain and a small cut to his left elbow.  Your assault of Mr Hughey is Charge 3 (assaulting a custodial officer on duty).   

13First Constable Jazmin Cook held onto your legs as you were kicking out at police and then tried to handcuff you.  Whilst she was doing this you grabbed and scratched her arms and held onto her wristwatch, refusing to let go. Your scratching caused both of her arms.to bleed.  This assault of Ms Cook is Charge 2 (assaulting an emergency worker on duty).

14You continued spitting in the direction of staff and trying to grab onto legs until eventually you were handcuffed.  You then rolled onto your back and kicked Sargeant Sweep to the face, causing swelling and redness to his nose. Sargeant Sweep also had scratches to his arms and hands. The assault to Sargeant Sweep is Charge 1 (causing injury recklessly).

15You were eventually overpowered and placed back into the cell.  Because of your injuries and out of concern for your mental health police reattended the cell to assist you.  You refused to come out of the cell and threw bloodied paper at Senior Constables Devlin and Francis. Your assault of Constable Devlin is Charge 5 (assault an emergency worker on duty).   You continued to resist and behave erratically.  You splashed toilet water at police and spat at them and then bit Senior Constable Brown on the hand.  This bite is Charge 6 (assaulting an emergency worker on duty).

16You were eventually sedated by Ambulance officers who transported you to Mildura Base Hospital for medical assessment. You were returned to the police station after assessment and remanded in custody and not interviewed by police.

Your personal circumstances

17I turn now to your personal circumstances, these were outlined in defence submissions and the Psychological Report of Ms Rebecca Fakhri. Ms Fakhri consulted with you via video conference for two hours on 28 July 2025.

18You are a 31 or 33 year old Aboriginal man - I have been given two different ages. You were born and raised in the Namatjira Avenue housing mission outside Dareton, New South Wales. Your mother is of Barkindji descent and your father was a Torres Strait Islander.

19You are one of six siblings. Two of your brothers have died from drug overdoses, the most recent in 2022. Your father died of a heart attack when you were only two years old. You describe your mother as a severe alcoholic, and due to her substance use you often resided with your maternal aunt and uncle.

20You told Ms Fakhri that you experienced physical and emotional abuse from a young age. From age 11 you began spending time in boys' homes and by age 12 you were placed in juvenile detention. Since that time you have had unstable accommodation including periods of transience and homelessness. Your mother resides in Mildura, and you have lived with her on and off over the years. I am told that when you are released from custody, you will be residing with your mother.  You are currently on a waitlist for housing in Mildura.

21You completed school up to Year 9 and later completed Year 10 whilst in custody. You have previously attended TAFE and commenced a Certificate II in Kitchen Operations. You have completed further vocational training whilst in custody, including a course in traffic management. You are currently undertaking a Certificate II in Construction. You have never maintained long-term paid employment and rely on Centrelink benefits when you are in the community. You told Ms Fakhri that you would like to obtain employment in the future and expressed an interest in working in traffic management.

22You began your first serious relationship at age 20 with Janelle. The relationship lasted approximately seven years and ended three years ago and produced two children, now aged nine and three, with whom you have some contact. You have had two other relationships which lasted approximately six months each. One of these relationships resulted in a daughter, aged three, who you have never met. 

23You started consuming alcohol at age 14 and by age 16 you were drinking alcohol daily. You started using cannabis at age 12 or 13 and were a heavy user until age 28. At age 18 you started using methamphetamine and by age 20 you were using it daily. You told Ms Fakhri that while using methamphetamine you would often stay awake for five to six consecutive days and would experience hallucinations. Whilst in custody you have been prescribed methadone. When you were last released from custody in 2024 you relapsed when your methadone prescription was not refilled in the community. You remained in the community for approximately three months before committing the offences currently before the court.

24In her report, Ms Fakhri says that you have a history of complex trauma, including early exposure to family violence, community alcohol misuse and neglect. You told Ms Fakhri that you mother was frequently absent due to alcohol dependence and that you were often left to care for yourself as a child. You also disclosed to Ms Fakhri that you were sexually abused at age 14.

25According to a previous psychological assessment report referred to by Ms Fakhri, you have a history of self-harm and have attempted suicide on approximately eight occasions.

26You were assaulted in 2020 and sustained a significant head trauma. In 2023 you were involved in a motor vehicle accident. You were treated at Mildura Base Hospital but did not sustain any major injuries.

Objective Gravity of your offending and moral culpability

27Critical to any sentence are the objective gravity of the offending and the moral culpability of the offender.

28Ms Swiney indicated that you do not have a clear recollection of the offending.  You explained what happened as best you could remember to a psychiatrist who your defence team retained to assess you in about April this year. 

29You told the psychiatrist that you had been released from custody in NSW a few days before 30 October and at that stage were feeling mentally stable but after arguing with Janelle, the mother of your children, you used methylamphetamine to calm yourself and things then went downhill.  You used methylamphetamine several times and became paranoid, especially about the police.  You went to your friends' house in Pasadena Grove and thought about setting fire to yourself although cannot recall your reasoning exactly.  After your arrest the police refused to allow you to make a call and you became argumentative in the cells believing your life was in danger. 

31You agreed with that version when you saw Ms Fakhri in July this year telling her that:

[Your] mental health was poor at the time of the offending [and you attributed your] symptoms to drug use and the emotional distress of a recent argument.  [You] described experiencing paranoia and a general worsening of your state, due to your methamphetamine use.

32Ms Fakhri assessed you as meeting the criteria for major depressive disorder.  She noted that that disorder was associated with deficits in impulse control, increased emotional reactivity, and diminished problem-solving capacity.

33She also noted that your depressive symptoms may have compounded your substance use as a form of self-medication and contributed to your hopelessness and disinhibition that preceded the offending before me.

34In addition to your major depressive disorder, Ms Fakhri considered that you presented with symptoms consistent with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.  She noted that symptoms from this condition fluctuate in intensity and frequency but are particularly prone to exacerbation under situations of extreme stress, or in conjunction with other mental health issues, or substance use. 

35She also noted that the co-occurrence of substance use with your PTSD symptoms and said that individuals with complex post-traumatic stress disorder often engage in substance use as a means of coping with intense internal distress and emotional dysregulation. She considered that your offending behaviour may have been fuelled by the interplay between your unresolved trauma and methamphetamine use.

36She also made a provisional diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and further noted that the presence of undiagnosed ADHD is significantly associated with increased risk of substance use disorders, incarceration, and externalising behaviours. 

37Finally, Ms Fakhri considered that you meet the diagnostic criteria for multiple substance use disorders.

38Your behaviour in custody was appalling and police and custody officers should not have to put up with it.  By your own admission your drug use was largely to blame, and you know from your history that drugs are a major contributing factor to your offending.  That said, I accept that your moral culpability is reduced by your disadvantaged upbringing in accordance with the principles set out in the case of Bugmy[3] and also your mental health issues, which have contributed to you resorting to drugs as a way of coping and self-medicating. 

[3] Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571

39As I have already said I am not satisfied that the evidence rises to the point of amounting to a special reason for not imposing the six-month minimum term of imprisonment. In particular, assuming that your mental health conditions amount to mental impairment, as defined, and even assuming that your mental illness is causally linked to the offending, at least by your predisposition to use drugs, I am not satisfied that it substantially and materially reduces your moral culpability, nor that it would result in you being subject to substantially and materially greater than the ordinary burden or risks of imprisonment.  

Impact of your offending[4]

[4] I am required to take into account is the impact of your offending on your victims and their personal circumstances - Section 5(2)(daa), (da) and (db).

40I have not received any victim impact statements but a reading of the circumstances of the offending make it clear that it would have affected each of your victims.  As I said before, they are entitled to go to work assuming that they will be not jeopardised in terms of their health or wellbeing, but they were in this case because of your conduct.

Current Sentencing Practices

41I am required to have regard to current sentencing practices which may be gleaned from statistics or sentences imposed in other cases or both. 

42I have had regard to the most recent Sentencing Advisory Council Statistics of the higher courts (that is the five years up until 30 June 2023) for all your offences. 

43Statistics are only ever of limited assistance because they never tell you anything about the details of the case.  I was not referred to any comparable cases. 

44Ultimately my duty is to impose a just and appropriate sentence on you in the unique circumstances of this case.

Plea of Guilty, co-operation and remorse

45You are entitled to a significant discount in your sentence because you pleaded guilty and did so at a very early stage.  In so doing you facilitated the course of justice, took legal responsibility for your crimes and avoided the need for a trial. 

46I am not satisfied that your plea of guilty is accompanied by remorse in the sense of a true acknowledgment of the harm that you caused and a commitment to change.  In that regard I refer again to the report of Ms Fakhri, where she said at paragraph 76, that you felt 'pretty shit' about your offending, primarily because it resulted in your incarceration.  You admitted that if you were not in gaol, you may not feel particularly remorseful about your actions.

47You do not get punished for lack of remorse; you just do not get an additional discount.  In addition, your lack of remorse bears upon your risk of reoffending, to which I will now turn. 

Your character and risk of reoffending

48You have been before the courts for criminal offending on many occasions.  The first occasion as an adult was in 2012 in Broken Hill District Court. Thereafter you had many appearances in New South Wales and in Victoria.  Most of your offences were dealt with in the Magistrates' Court or on appeal from that court, but you did receive significant terms of imprisonment in the New South Wales District Court in 2012 and 2017 and 2019.   

49Ms Fakhri summarised your prior criminal history as follows:

Mr Anu's offending history demonstrates a long-standing pattern of violence, property related offences, breaches of court orders, and impulsive behaviour across jurisdictions. 

50It is not surprising then that Ms Fakhri assessed your risk of reoffending as 'moderate to high in terms of [your] risk of future violence' and a 'moderate risk of committing serious physical harm' if you reoffend, and a 'moderate risk of imminent violence'.  She considered that you require a moderate to high level of supervision and resources to manage your risk. 

51She said that your risk is based on a pattern of serious offending behaviour, persistent substance misuse, and periods of significant instability.  You have also previously disengaged from structured activities, and you also have been influenced by negative peers.

52She said that your risk is elevated by anticipated stress or coping and your risk would immediately elevate if you were to relapse into substance abuse and discontinue with mental health, and alcohol and drug treatment.

53She considered that you do have some protective factors, that is factors that will make you less likely to offend in the future, but they are not extensive.  You have demonstrated some insight into the relationship between substance use and your offending behaviour and that is of itself a protective factor. 

54You have made some prior attempts to engage with support services, and again that is a protective factor.  In custody, you have maintained engagement with methadone treatment and you appear motivated to reduce drug use.

55She considered that with appropriate support, including stable housing and intensive case management, and targeted mental health and alcohol and drug interventions, your risk could be mitigated over time, but in the absence of such support, the risk factors significantly outweigh your current protective elements.

56She made various recommendations, all of which seem sensible and centred around you having supports in the community.  For that reason I canvassed with Ms Swiney the option of a community corrections order which could be imposed in combination with a term of imprisonment on any of the charges except Charge 1.  Ms Swiney explained that as desirable as that may be, you have a pending trial in New South Wales which will be delayed if you are required to remain in Victoria on a community corrections order.  Further, she indicated that upon your release you intended to reside with your mother and she is supportive of you. 

The burden of imprisonment

57In determining the appropriate sentence I must consider how a term of imprisonment would be likely to impact you, particularly given your mental health.  In this case, since you have been in prison for some time, the effect of imprisonment on you has manifested itself.

58I accept that both Verdins limbs 5 and 6 are enlivened.[5]  Limb 5 is concerned with the burden of imprisonment on you as opposed to a person of normal mental health, that is the burden will be greater, and limb 6 is concerned with the serious risk, which I am satisfied exists, that your mental health will significantly deteriorate in prison. 

[5] R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102

Purposes of Sentencing

59I am obliged not to impose a more severe sentence than is necessary to achieve the sentencing purposes of just punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation, and protection of the community.  A custodial sentence must only be imposed as a last resort but is conceded to be the only appropriate sentence in this case.  When it is imposed it must be the absolute minimum required to meet all the sentencing principles.

60Further, when there are multiple charges, such as here, the total effective sentence must not offend the principle of totality, meaning you must not be punished any more than is proportionate and appropriate to your overall criminality.  At the same time, I must recognise that there were separate victims involved in each of Charges 1 to 6.

61Because Charges 2 to 6 are founded on the same facts and are part of a series of offences of the same or similar character I am going to impose an aggregate sentence on them.  Charge 1 also fits that description but because it has its own sentencing mandates, I will sentence you separately for that. 

62Charge 7 is not serious - that is the possession charge - and I will convict and discharge you on that charge.  Just stand up please, Mr Anu.

Sentence

63On Charge 1, I convict and sentence you to seven months' imprisonment. 

64On Charges 2 to 6, I convict and sentence you to an aggregate of eight months' imprisonment, three months will be cumulative on Charge 1, making a total sentence of 10 months. 

65I declare that you have already served 320 days' imprisonment, not including today, in respect of this sentence and I order that this declaration be entered in the records of the court and be deducted administratively. What that means is that you will be released immediately you have been processed back in the cells of Mildura police station.

Section 6AAA 

66If you had not pleaded guilty to these charges and been found guilty by a jury, I would have given you a sentence of imprisonment of two years with a non‑parole period of 18 months. 

Ancillary orders

67The Prosecution have made application for forfeiture of the drugs and I make that order.

68So Mr Anu, do you understand the sentence that I have made?  Mr Anu, because you are being released without any form of supervision over you, and I have been told you have got that outstanding matter in New South Wales which you want to attend to, you have to make sure that you do not go back onto the drugs, because if you do you will end up going back into custody I am sure.  Do you understand?

69Anything else I need to attend to?

70MR O'DOHERTY:  No, Your Honour.

71HER HONOUR:  All right, thank you.

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