Director of Public Prosecutions v Chase
[2015] VCC 669
•21 May 2015
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| MARCUS CLEVELAND CHASE (A PSEUDONYM) |
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JUDGE: | Grant | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 12 May 2015 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 21 May 2015 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | ||
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2015] VCC 669 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms L. Dipietrantonio | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Offender | Mr D. Gibson | Victoria Legal Aid |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Marcus Cleveland Chase[1], you have pleaded guilty to one charge of rape. The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years' imprisonment.
[1]Marcus Cleveland Chase is a pseudonym
2 I have heard a summary of the offending. It is not my intention to repeat the whole summary. It has been tendered as Exhibit A in these proceedings.
3
Briefly, you and the victim were good friends. At about 7 pm on 7 February 2014, the complainant attended at your home. During the course of the evening, both of you smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol. At about
1 am the complainant, who was tired and affected by the drugs and alcohol she had consumed, lay down on a mattress on the lounge room floor and fell asleep. You lay down beside her and commenced rubbing her vagina on the outside of her clothes. The complainant awoke when you lay beside her and she tried to brush your hand away. She asked you what you were doing. She repeatedly asked you to stop and tried to move away and pushed your hand away. You grabbed her and pulled her towards you. You pulled her pants and underpants down and inserted your penis into her vagina. The complainant tried to move away, but you continued to penetrate her. She said, "Marcus, can you please stop? You shouldn’t be doing this." You replied, "Sorry" but continued. The complainant again asked you to stop, but you continued, telling her that you knew it was wrong but it felt good. The complainant started crying and you then stopped. You pulled up her pants, rubbed her back and apologised. The complainant began to hyperventilate and you gave her her ventilator pump. The complainant left your premises and went to her grandmother’s house. Later that day you sent her a text message saying, "I’m so sorry Mariah[2]. I really am. I'm just a fuck head when I drink. Don’t know what came over me."
[2]Mariah Madeline Peak is a pseudonym
4 Mr Chase, you have committed the very serious offence of rape. You have forced yourself upon a young woman who had been, up until that time, a friend. She trusted you. You raped her when she was tired and substance affected. The fact that you were also affected by drugs and alcohol may go some way to explain why you acted in the way you did, but it does not in any way excuse your criminal conduct.
5 The complainant read her victim impact statement to the court. It is clear that she has suffered ongoing emotional harm and distress as a result of your offending. Your offending has affected her relationship with her family, her friends and her community. Her sleeping patterns have been affected and her feelings of safety have been compromised. She suffers stress and anxiety.
6 The complainant’s mother provided a victim impact statement, in which she also detailed the emotional harm and distress that she has suffered as a result of your criminal behaviour.
7 Mr Chase, in a case of this type, general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment are all highly relevant sentencing considerations.
8 I briefly raise some matters concerning your background. These matters are discussed in more detail in a report from a forensic psychologist, Mr Jeremy Parker. That report has been tendered in this hearing as Exhibit 2.
9 You are an Aboriginal man who comes from a good family. You are the second youngest of eight children. You grew up in Emerald in Queensland and your mother still resides there. Your mother attended the plea hearing on 12 May. I accept she is a strong support for you. I note that not long after the commission of this offence you returned to live in Emerald. Upon completion of your sentence you wish to return to live in Emerald. I have no doubt that such a move would be in your best interests.
10 It appears that you had a happy childhood. You enjoyed school and you were good at sport. You left school in Year 11 and gained an apprenticeship as a bricklayer. You completed the apprenticeship. The job ceased when your employer left the area.
11 You left home at 18 to begin a relationship with your former partner. You had met online and you travelled to Bairnsdale to be with her. You have a daughter, who is two years old. You and your former partner had separated prior to this offending, but you remained in Bairnsdale to be near your daughter. You told Mr Parker that the relationship had its "ups and downs".
12 One obvious low point was your appearance in September 2014 in the Magistrates’ Court for offences of criminal damage, assault and breach of an intervention order. For those matters you were convicted and fined. Those offences were committed in November 2013. On the other side of the ledger, I do note that your former partner attended court on 12 May to support you.
13 Mr Parker notes in his report that you currently suffer from severe levels of stress, extremely severe levels of anxiety, and moderate levels of depression. He states that these stem from a range of psycho-social stressors, including past relationship stress, past drug use and adjusting to not seeing your daughter. Undoubtedly the pressure of this court case adds to your stress and anxiety. You are currently prescribed two tablets of Diazepam per day.
14 Mr Parker has also stated that you are suffering from an adjustment disorder. Your counsel concedes that the disorder is not causally linked to the offending in a way that would reduce your moral culpability, or the weight to be given to principles of deterrence or denunciation. I do accept that there should be some moderation of sentence to reflect the fact that gaol will be more onerous for you than it would be for someone without your mental health conditions.
15 Mr Chase, I accept that there are a number of matters in mitigation. You are 21 years old. You were 20 at the time of the offending. It seems that you had difficulty coping when you moved to Bairnsdale. You had no family members to support you, you were unable to find employment and you had assumed responsibilities at a young age that you were not well equipped to deal with. These factors, together with the volatility in your relationship and the eventual breakup of that relationship, compounded your stress and anxiety. You then commenced, and I use your counsel's words, to "self-medicate" with cannabis and alcohol. Such a response only compounded your difficulties. I mention these matters, not because they excuse your conduct, but because they do help explain how a young man from a good background and with no prior criminal history should end up in such a serious situation.
16 Because you are a young man, rehabilitation is an important sentencing consideration. It is also highly relevant that you have no prior convictions.
17
You have pleaded guilty to the offence. It is not an early plea of guilty. However, I do note that immediately after the offending, you were apologetic and remorseful. Given those circumstances, it is hard to understand why you required the complainant to give evidence at the committal. Your counsel suggested it was because you had difficulty accepting the consequence that would attach to admitting your criminality. Be that as it may, you have now pleaded guilty and accepted the complainant’s account of what occurred.
I am satisfied that you are remorseful. Your plea has meant that the complainant has not had to give evidence at a trial. It has also saved the cost and expense associated with such a trial. I will give you appropriate credit for all of these matters.
18 I accept that this is a rape at the lower end of the offending scale. The force involved was at a low level. The offending was spontaneous and you did eventually desist. You apologised immediately afterwards.
19 I accept that you have good prospects for rehabilitation. These prospects would be enhanced should you return to the support offered by your family in Queensland and participate in programs that address your misuse of cannabis and alcohol, and also address your stress, anxiety and mild depression.
20 Mr Chase, this is a serious offence. It warrants an appropriate term of imprisonment. On the other hand, the circumstances of the offending and the matters relevant in mitigation, speak towards an order that provides you with strong support in the community upon your release.
21 Mr Chase, you are convicted and sentenced to a term of two years' imprisonment, to be followed upon your release by a two year community corrections order. The order will have the following conditions: To be under supervision for the period of the order; to participate in assessment and treatment for drug abuse or dependency; to participate in assessment and treatment for alcohol abuse or dependency; to participate in mental health assessment and treatment; to attend for assessment and, if suitable, participate in a sex offence program.
22 The nature of this offence is such that I do not consider it appropriate to fix a non-parole period on the imprisonment term. Obviously the way this order is structured is also a factor in this regard.
23 I make a declaration that you have served nine days by way of pre-sentence detention.
24
Mr Chase, had you pleaded not guilty and been found guilty after trial,
I would have sentenced you to an imprisonment term of five years, with a minimum term of three years and four months, before you would have been eligible for release on parole.
25 Given the circumstances of this offence, your lack of prior history, your young age and your good prospects for rehabilitation, I do not intend to make an order under the Sex Offender Registration Act. I also note that the prosecution do not seek such an order in this case.
26 Mr Chase, when you complete your two year sentence, you will be required to report to the Carlton Community Corrections office within two days of your release.
27 There is a possibility that your community corrections order will be transferred to Queensland. That is a matter for Community Corrections, it is not a matter for me. But I have stated in these remarks that you would be best served by returning to Queensland, if that was possible. I have been advised that the Queensland Corrections Service have assessed your mother's home as a suitable place for you to reside. But again, I want to stress, that is a matter for Corrections and not for me, as to the transfer of that order. There is a likelihood it will occur, but I cannot guarantee it. Do you understand?
28 OFFENDER: Yes, Your Honour.
29 HIS HONOUR: All right, look you can be seated there.
30 Were there any other matters?
31 COUNSEL: No, Your Honour.
32 HIS HONOUR: Yes, thank you.
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