Director of Public Prosecutions v Blackburn (a pseudonym)

[2017] VCC 917

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT WANGARATTA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

STEVEN BLACKBURN (a pseudonym)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MONTGOMERY
WHERE HELD:	Wangaratta
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	5 July 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Blackburn (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 917

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:  
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr A. Moore
For the Accused	Ms B. Goding

HIS HONOUR:

1Steven Blackburn,[1] you have pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual penetration of a child between the age of ten and 16, that child being Sarah McKnight.[2]

[1] Steven Blackburn is a pseudonym.

[2] Sarah McKnight is a pseudonym.

2Charge 1 has the additional factor that, at the time, Sarah McKnight was either generally or at the time of the offence, under your care, supervision or authority.  Both charges are representative charges.

3The facts of the matter are set out in Exhibit 1, the prosecution summary.  I will not now recount the facts in any detail.  They are not disputed by your counsel.  Any reader of these reasons can refer to that exhibit to place the sentence in its factual context.

4Briefly stated, when you were aged 39, you lived in Seymour with your wife and three children.  You commenced a sexual relationship with Sarah McKnight.  At the time of the offending, she was aged 14 to 15.  You met her when you were in the Army Reserve and she was a cadet.  You were an instructor for the Cadets.

5The first charge occurred in January 1990 when you were a bus driver.  It occurred at the Drill Hall.

6Charge 2, concerned events at a time after she had left the Army Cadets up until her 16th birthday.  After that time, you went to stay at her address for an extended period, sleeping in her bedroom.  When she turned 18, both of you moved in together at a caravan park for six months, and thereafter, at her family home.

7On 20 June 1994, a child, Stacey Blackburn,[3] was born.  Approximately a year later, Sarah left you and moved to Shepparton and then to Echuca.  You continued to live with Sarah's mother, not as a couple, I add.  You are now caring for the mother who has dementia.  You have been in a business with her.  You raised Stacey as a sole parent.

[3] Stacey Blackburn is a pseudonym.

8A victim impact statement was tendered and read to the court by the prosecutor.  It recorded the effect your relationship has had upon Sarah McKnight.  She believes it ostracised her from the family because of this behaviour.

9I have taken the victim impact statement contents into account.

10Your counsel filed written submissions and supplemented them orally.  She tendered a report from Jeffrey Cummins, psychologist, and two references.  I have taken all this material into account.

11The written submissions and the psychological support set out your background.  You were born in England and came with your family to Australia in 1963.  You consistently worked.  You had three children from your marriage of 21 years.  You have periodic contact with one of the daughters from that marriage.

12In particular, your counsel relied;

13(1), on your early plea of guilty and I accept that.  Pleas of guilty are notoriously difficult to obtain in these types of cases, and indeed, when looking at the judicial sentencing manual to try and obtain some view of current sentencing practices, not all that many people plead guilty.  It is an acceptance of responsibility of you for your offending and it saved the court the time and the cost of a jury trial.  Jury trials involving this type of offending are often emotionally hazardous for the victim.

14(2), she submitted you have no other criminal offending.

15(3), she pointed out your personal circumstances, submitting that you are a hardworking person of good character.

16(4), she took me to Mr Cummins' report, which was dated 28 June 2017.  He set out your background in a comprehensive nine page report.  I will not now recount your personal details as set out there.

17He conducted a number of tests upon you and concluded, as a result of those test results, that you were in the low risk of offending by way of committing a sexual offence against an underage female.  He concluded that you could not be diagnosed as a paedophile.  He said there is no requirement for you to participate in any offence specific programs.  You expressed remorse to him and you showed insight to your offending.

18You told him that you knew at the time you should not be having a sexual relationship with such a young person.  You said that whilst in custody, he had concerns about your mental health in that it would deteriorate because of your concerns about the health of Mrs Gray[4] and your concerns for your daughter.

[4] Mrs Grey is a pseudonym.

19Your daughter and her twin brother were in court.  Her husband was outside.  Mrs Gray was too ill to attend, although she did want to.

20(5), your counsel pointed to delay in that, from the time of this offending up until the present time, you had showed that this offending was out of character for you because you had not reoffended in any way.

21(6), she submitted this would be the first time you have been in custody.

22(7), she relied on what was set out in the character references. 

23She submitted that I should consider placing you on a long period of parole.

24In sentencing you, I am required to balance the interests of the community in denouncing criminal conduct with the interest of the community to seek to ensure, as far as possible, offenders are rehabilitated into society.  I express my denunciation of the behaviour.

25The basic purposes for which a court may impose a sentence are general deterrence, that is to try and get across to others that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated, and specific deterrence, that is to reinforce on your mind not to do it again.

26I am satisfied that this plays little part in my sentencing process because of your good character and the matters mentioned in Mr Cummins' report.

27General rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community are other sentencing factors.  I do not consider protection of the community is relevant here.

28In sentencing you, I must have regard to a range of matters such as the seriousness of the offending, your culpability for it, your personal circumstances and those of the victim, if any.  As I have said, I have taken into account the contents of the victim impact statement.

29A submission was put to me that it is a mitigating factor that you have the support of your daughter and the Gray family.  The prosecutor contended an alternate position.

30This all revolves around why Sarah McKnight left you.  I am unable to make a finding as to the exact circumstances of why that occurred.  No evidence has been called and neither party has put that I should go into an investigation in respect to that.  You told Mr Cummins one version and in her victim impact statement, she gives another.

31However, I am satisfied that she has the belief that she has been ostracised from the family because of what occurred with you, and I accept that she has that belief and take it into account.

32You took advantage of a young girl when you were a trusted authority figure.  However, on the other hand, you have accepted the responsibility of raising the child, Stacey.  It would seem that the relationship between you and Sarah was no secret to the Gray family.

33As I have said, I have considered current sentencing practices and I make the comment that it is very difficult to find out what current sentencing practices there are because of the multiplicity of sentences imposed because of whether a plea of guilty was entered or not, the number of complainants, and the various different circumstances of this type of offending.

34However, taking into account all those factors and in particular, your plea of guilty, you are otherwise good record and your personal circumstances, I particularly take into account the fact that you raised Stacey as a sole parent.  It seems to me that that is an acceptance by you of responsibility for the parenting of her.

35Weighing up all these matters, I have come to the following conclusion, doing the best I can.

36On Charge 1, I sentence you to a term of imprisonment of two years.

37On Charge 2, I sentence you to a term of imprisonment of three years.

38The term of two years is to be concurrent with the term of three years, which makes a total effective sentence of three years.

39I declare that you served the period of 18 months before becoming eligible for parole.

40Is it now a PSD of one day because of overnight?

41MR MOORE:  No.

42HIS HONOUR:  No.  All right.  You are to be placed on the sex offenders register for the period of life.  Those documents will have to be served on you.  If you would just like to take a seat.

436AAA.  I declare that if you had proceeded to trial and you were convicted by a jury, it is always hard for me to know what I would do in those circumstances, you would have received at least a sentence of eight years with a non-parole period of six years.

44MR MOORE:  Your Honour pleases.

45HIS HONOUR:  Ms Vaughan, I will ask you to take up the sex offenders register documents to your client to see if he accepts service of them.  He does not have to.  They will then go to him in the mail I would imagine.­

46MS VAUGHAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

47HIS HONOUR:  But I expect you to explain to him the ramifications of the sex offenders registration, which are very onerous.

48MS VAUGHAN:  Yes sir.

49HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  We will just wait for that to be printed up.

50MS VAUGHAN:  Yes, Your Honour.  If I may address Your Honour on some custody management issues as well?  If I may address Your Honour on some custody management issues as well?

51HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

52MS VAUGHAN:  Obviously first time in custody for Mr Blackburn, and at the age 66, would be vulnerable in the prison community.  He also suffers from diabetes and vertigo and he is on a number of medications with respect to his diabetes.

53HIS HONOUR:  I think I have accepted, if I did not explicitly say so, that my sentence is moderated to some degree because of the concerns he will have about Mrs Gray, and his daughter, and his age.  He is 67 and he has some health issues.  But there is no material for me to suggest the custodial system cannot cope with those health issues.  What do you want me to do?

54MS VAUGHAN:  I just ask that that be noted, Your Honour, for the purposes of custody management.

55HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Perhaps you can say that again.  There is diabetes.

56MS VAUGHAN:  Diabetes, Your Honour and he also suffers from vertigo.

57HIS HONOUR:  Vertigo.

58MS VAUGHAN:  He takes medication.  There is three different types of medication that he takes with respect to the diabetes.

59HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Can you put that on the form?  That will go on the order.

60MS VAUGHAN:  Thank you, Your Honour.

61HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Having trouble finding a printer that works.

62So, Mr Blackburn, you are being asked to accept service of the details of the sex offenders register, what is required of you under them.  You can accept service if you want to.  If not, they will be served by mail upon you, I think.  If you like to take that up to him.  That is the page.  Yes, thank you.  No other matters in this, Mr Moore?

63MR MOORE:  No, Your Honour.

64HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Take Mr Blackburn out, thank you.  You are excused.  Thank you for your attending.

65MS VAUGHAN:  Thank you, Your Honour.

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