Director of Public Prosecutions v Darby

[2018] VCC 202

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 16-00255

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

STEVEN MARK DARBY

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MULLALY
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	1 March 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Darby
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 202

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 S. Milesi	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr P. Kounnas	Victoria Legal Aid

HIS HONOUR: 

1Steven Mark Darby, you are now 52 years old.  When you were about 27, you commenced a relationship with a woman who had recently moved with her four children to the Birchip area.

2You would often stay overnight at the family residence in Birchip and later on a farm situated nearby.  As note, there were four children in the household, three girls, and a young boy. 

3The youngest girl was about 12 and you commenced a relationship with her mother.  The next oldest, or middle daughter, was about 14. 

4You have pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse of both the daughters and now is the time that you must meet your just desserts for your serious criminal conduct.

5I will commence with your sexual offending against the older of the two of the victims.  This offending occurred first in time, or thereabouts, although the charges are the last three on the indictment.

6The older victim said she was about 14 years of age when you first offended against her, while the family was still residing in the home in Birchip.  You came into her bedroom smelling of beer, put your hand under her doona, rubbing around her upper thigh.

7The victim pretended to be asleep.  This behaviour was repeated on other occasions, however you were charged with the first occasion. 

8This victim then recalls that your offending escalated from touching her on her legs to groping her around her breasts, under her T-shirt.  She did not move, pretending to be asleep.  This was charged as a single event of indecent act with a child under the age of 16.

9This victim recalls that on another occasion, you came in again and rubbed her legs and breasts but on this occasion, moved your hand from the breast to her vagina, rubbing her over the top of her underwear before moving your hand under her underwear, rubbing her vagina.

10This again is charged as an indecent act with a child under the age of 16. 
I will defer analysis of the gravity of these crimes until I have dealt with the plainly more serious offending against the younger victim.

11On an occasion when the youngest daughter was about 12, and the family was still residing in Birchip, you came into her bedroom after an evening of drinking and sat on her bed.  You told the child that you did not love her mother and that you were only with her mother to get at her and that you wanted to be with her.

12This provides a clear and dreadful insight into your perverse thinking which you then acted upon over a number of years.  It should be noted that both in a record of interview with the police conducted on 17 July 2015, and in instructions you gave to a psychiatrist who you saw on 11 August 2017 for the purpose of this plea, you said that you did not have a sexual relationship with the mother and that you first favoured the second eldest daughter and then when she moved out, you favoured the youngest daughter. 

13Thus, in my view, there is material including the crimes that you committed to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that you remained in the relationship with the mother and one of the purposes was to have access to and capacity to abuse the two daughters.

14On the first occasion, in relation to the youngest victim, you began your sexual abuse by touching her on her developing breasts.  You were told by her to stop and to get out.  You asked why and she stated that she did not want you to touch her however your abuse continued.

15When the youngest daughter was about 13 or 14 years of age, the family moved to the farm outside Birchip.  She was asleep when you entered her room, woke her, touched her breasts and tried to put your hands on her vagina. 
She still recalls that you smelt of beer.

16On another occasion when she was asleep, you came into her room and woke her up.  On that occasion, you had with you your .22 rifle.  You showed her the rifle and showed her that it was loaded.  You asked her to come with you and she followed you to where her mother was sleeping.

17You then held the barrel of the gun close to her mother's head.  You told her that if she told anyone about the sexual abuse, you would kill her mother. 
She said that you then took her into her youngest brother's bedroom.  You then again held the barrel to the young boys head and told the victim that you would kill her brother as well.

18I will speak more about the gravity of this offence of making a threat to kill, which relates to just to the mother, in due course.  What stands out from this bare description is the frightening, chilling aspect of your conduct.

19Shortly after, the victim's eldest sister moved out of the family home.  You came into the youngest daughter's bedroom and in a dreadful abuse of power, told the young child that it was her fault that the eldest child had moved out of the house.  You then roughly grabbed her breast.

20The sexual conduct described thus far is all part of the one representative charge being Charge 1, an indecent act with a child under the age of 16.

21In the period of your offending, the victim's maternal grandmother lived in
Phillip Island.  When the grandmother was ill, the mother of the victims went to Phillip Island to visit and care for her ill mother.  The children were left in your care.

22On the first occasion that the mother went to Philip Island, you took the opportunity to significantly escalate your sexual abuse of the young victim. 
The young victim had made a bed for herself and her younger brother in the lounge room near the fireplace as it was very cold.

23When she was asleep, she felt the doona lift up and realised that you were lying next to her.  She told you to get out.  You then again produced your gun and pointed it at the young boy.  You then grabbed the victim's breasts, rubbing and squeezing them.

24When she started to cry, you told her to be quiet and to "Enjoy it".  You then told her to take off her nightie.  Once she had, you then took a Polaroid photograph of her breast.  You then requested she take a photograph of your penis which she did.  She subsequently threw the pictures produced into the fire.

25Here again, I pause to point out the degrading nature of this conduct, which also give insight into your sexual interest in the young teenage child. 

26After the photographs had been taken, you told the victim to lie on her back.  You took off your pants.  You then had her lie with her back to you and you put your penis between her legs, thrusting back and forward, asking her if it was inside her vagina yet.  You then ejaculated over her legs.

27This was charged as an indecent act with a child under the age of 16, being Charge 3.

28The next night, when the mother was still away, you again came to where the victim was lying, fondling her breasts and rubbing your penis against her leg.  On this occasion, you did insert your penis into her vagina.  You have been charged and pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 who was in your care, supervision and authority.

29Again as an insight into your state of mind, although the child cried out in pain, you told her that "she was the best you had ever had".

30The next day, the victim's mother returned.  You were, however, emboldened it seemed and went into the victim's room that night, making the child stroke your penis and you moved her knickers aside and fondled her vagina.  These were charged as two separate acts of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16.

31On another occasion, when the victim's mother again went to Phillip Island, you took the opportunity to sexually abuse her again.  She was, at this time, about 16.  Again, she had set up a mattress for her and her brother, hoping that if they were together, you would not do anything to her.  However, the young boy being present and asleep did not deter you at all.  You came to where she was, got undressed, laying next to her, kissing her.  When you started to lift her nightie, she yelled out to stop. 

32You then got up and went and got your gun, bringing it close to her brother's head saying "If you don't, I will him".  The child was forced to the unenviable position of simply saying "Ok, just put the gun down and get it away from Robbie".  You then took her nightie and knickers off, put on a condom and sexually penetrated her vagina. 

33After you had ejaculated with a condom on, you withdrew and said to her "That was good, thank you".  The child was left crying.

34The next night, you came into the lounge room bringing your gun with you.  You again took the young boy from the bed and got underneath the doona with the victim and again penetrated her vagina with your penis.  You had put on a condom.  The victim recalls that this was the last occasion that you sexually penetrated her, however you continued to come into her room, kissing her breasts and touching her on her vagina on other occasions.

35Not long after these events, she made revelations of your behaviour to other relatives and you were ejected from the family.

36Understandably, your abuse of the two victims has had a profound effect on their lives.  The younger victim was the subject of sexual penetrations and the threat with the gun.  In his victim impact statement, she speaks about how her life was changed so much because of what happened to her in her teenage years. 

37The victim felt confused about why the sexual abuse was happening to her.  This led the younger victim to ask herself what had she done wrong for it to happen.  To cause this sort of thinking in a child is a dreadful thing; of course, she did absolutely nothing wrong. 

38You alone are responsible for your perverted sexual abuse of her.  But in her early adolescence, she isolated herself staying in her room at home and missing school.  She gave up her interests in horse riding and let her school work fall away.

39Her self-esteem was affected and she took to comfort eating to overcome depression.  To this day, she still suffers from nightmares and wakes up screaming.  She speaks of how her mood can change from being relatively calm to becoming anxious.

40She has great difficult trusting people and does not feel safe in social situations, particularly around people who are drinking.  She has an enduring memory of the smell of beer being attached to her sexual abuse; when she smells beer now, she gets scared and cannot talk and becomes a different person. 
She says that she is never going to be the happy go lucky person she was before her teens. 

41On any view, your crimes have seriously adversely affected the victim and this is a matter that I must and have considered in the sentencing process.

42The eldest sister wrote of the memory of how your abuse of her in her teenage years has endured and never leaves her thoughts.  She is constantly reminded of it, simple things bring back the memory like the smell of beer or the particular colour of a car.  What occurs is her emotional state changes easily.  She wrote of how, from her early teenage years, she has never been able to trust anyone, especially males.

43She spoke of how she moved out of the family home at a young age, ruining her relationship with her family.  She was not able to be confident and struggled to keep friendships.

44She too felt ashamed of herself and thought others would think the same. 
She was unable to consider having children of her own because she feared what may happen to her child and that she would be too restrictive and not allow the child to enjoy her life.  Her victim impact statement has been considered in the sentencing process.

45As required by the Sentencing Act, I must consider the gravity of your offending as well as your moral culpability.  As was conceded by your counsel, this was very serious offending over a protracted period of time, especially in relation to the younger victim.

46On occasions of the sexual penetrations, the younger victim by reason of the victim's mother being away, she had given you responsibility to look after the child while she went to tend to her own mother.

47Your comprehensive breach of trust in respect to both victims makes your offending more serious, especially in relation to the younger victim.  Also what makes these crimes particularly concerning is the fact that early on, you indicated that in truth you were with the mother so as to have access to the victims.

48Also the fact that you abused the older victim and when she moved out, you then turned on the younger victims reveals the purposeful and predatory nature of your conduct. 

49Another aspect that makes this grave offending is the fact that you were approaching and then just over the age of 30 during your offending.  The young victim was 12 at the outset and just 16 at the end.  The older victim was 14 or 15 years old.

50In respect of the seven charges on an indecent act with a child under the age of 16, our Court of Appeal has made clear that sexually touching the child short of actual penetration is still a serious violation of the child's body and serious offending.  In respect of Charge 3, that is the most grave example of the offence of an indecent act of a child under the age of 16 on this indictment.

51You had your penis between her legs, asking if you had yet penetrated her vagina.  You continued this perverse act until you had ejaculated.  With respect to Charges 5 and 6, to compel a child to masturbate your erect penis while you fondled her vagina - these are both very serious examples of the offence of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16. 

52The two charges of sexual penetration, one being when the young victim was under 16 and the other a representative charge when she was just 16 are quite simply dreadful crimes.  The community expects nothing less than stern punishment involving years of imprisonment for these crimes.

53The latter penetration is significantly aggravated by your resorting to your gun to overcome the victims understandable resistance and fear.  When you gave her the purported choice, though it be no choice, to either have sex with you or you would shoot her brother having got your gun and in the context of earlier like threats, this conduct was simply unforgivable.

54You have pleaded guilty to the offence, the offences that are set out on the indictment and you will be punished for those offences with those maximum terms and those alone.  However the presence of, the use of and the reference to the gun makes the offences of sexual penetration Charges 4 and 7 and indecent act Charge 3 plainly elevated in seriousness.

55It adds a frightening aspect of violence and menace.  The offending against the older victim escalated.  She, like her younger sister, was entitled to feel safe in her own house and bed.  

56In respect of the charge of threat to kill, Charge 2, this again is a very serious example of that offence.  These were no idle words.  You had a loaded firearm which you put close to the head of the victim's mother.  There can be no more chilling scenario for a child than the nightmare of having to submit to sexual abuse or keep silent about it to avoid the catastrophic consequences of what you threatened.

57Nothing could be or was said that diminishes your moral culpability for this series of dreadful offending.  You knew what you were doing.  That is explained in the sense that you used the threats to ensure that you could continue to do what you do..  That is, keep your conduct with the younger victim hidden.

58It makes plain you knew what you were doing was wrong.  You treated them, in particular the younger victim, in a dreadful way, degrading her with the photo and comments such as that "She was the best that you had had".

59It seems clear that you were a heavy, if not very heavy, drinker at the time. 
You were affected by alcohol when you offended, a matter that has remained embedded in the minds of the victims.  However, the fact that you had been drinking prior to the offending is no excuse and does not diminish your moral culpability. 

60On any analysis, your moral culpability remains high, a matter that must be reflected in the weight to be given to denunciation and just punishment.

61As to your personal circumstances, as noted you are now 52 years old.  I do not undervalue the fact that you have no prior convictions and no subsequent similar offending over a period of more than 20 years.

62You are not a man of great intelligence and the psychiatrist who saw you considered that you might have a borderline intellect although no formal testing was done.  You left school early but had already developed a work ethic in the family milk bar over a number of years.

63Eventually, you worked in an engineering business set up by your father. 
You then took over that business in 2004 and continue to operate that business to this day.  It is a modest enterprise, I was told.  Nonetheless, your work history is to your credit. 

64After leaving the victim's family, you formed a new relationship about 17 years ago and your partner and you have had five boys between the age of six and 16.  They have learning difficulties, some significant.  You provide for them and together with your partner, bring them up on limited means.

65The family will be in significant financial difficulties once you are incarcerated.  There will be problems with transport which will affect them and possibly increase your isolation in prison.  I take those matters into account.

66Your drinking started early and became a significant problem.  It seems clear that you have a problem with alcohol, perhaps to the point of being an alcoholic.  To your credit, in recent times, you have reduced your reliance on alcohol. 
Your partner remains a support to you, which will be important upon your release.

67You were seen by a psychiatrist and you provided him with your background and personal circumstances.  I have taken that all into account.  However, in respect to the offending, you said the following - perhaps if I put it this way?

68The author, Dr Pandurangi said the following quoting you, paragraph 26,

"He found it difficult to talk about the alleged offences and kept indicating that he is unable to recall the events.  He said that he could recall 'touching' the victims 'a few times' but 'not as much' as it is being alleged.  He indicated that he was 'just mucking around, just a joke'.  He said that he could not recall sexual 'penetration' but said 'I don't know if it happened or not'. He could not remember threatening to kill the victim's brother and was adamant that he did not take, and I impose there, the gun inside the house.  Further exploration about the alleged charges did not reveal any more relevant information as to the motivations or intentions."

69He went on to say at a later point that you denied depressed moods or themes of hopelessness or helplessness, and you denied any biological symptoms of depression.  Further he indicated, this is Dr Pandurangi "There was no compelling evidence available to him to indicate the presence of any significant personality dysfunction".

70On the plea, the prosecutor contended your responses to the psychiatrist reveal a concerning lack of insight into your offending.  I will return back to this issue in relation to your prospects for reform and your risks for future sexual offending against children shortly.

71You did plead guilty to the ten charges, however your plea followed a trial where both victims were fully cross-examined.  The jury were discharged without verdict quite late in the piece.  A retrial was proposed but prior to it being commenced or listed, a plea was negotiated and you entered the pleas of guilty.

72Thus the value of your plea is limited.  It is not said to be an indication of any remorse.  You have acknowledged your responsibility.  Your sentence will be less because of your plea of guilty.  Beyond the fact of the plea of guilty, I find it difficult to discern any evidence of remorse.

73As to your overall prospects of reform, the most important matter is your steady relationship and family life over the last 18 or so years.  You have never reoffended in a like manner.  Although there are, as I have expressed, concerning aspects of your conduct that cast light on the way you thought about or of the young female victims, I am of the view that any risk of reoffending is by now much reduced.

74The community will be best protected if you are able to re-establish with your partner and children.  You will need support and supervision.  As required, I will allow for a period of potential parole.  Whether and when you are granted parole is for others in the future, not me.

75You will be declared a serious sexual offender for the offences 4 to 10 as I can indicate that you will receive appropriate terms of imprisonment for Charge 1 and 3, both sexual offences.  Thus I am required to consider the protection of the community as the primary sentencing purpose for Charges 4 to 10. 

76I am also required to impose accumulation of sentences unless I otherwise order.  In this case, given the number of charges, there needs to be a measure of concurrency so that the overall sentence does not become a outlier in the range of sentences imposed for this type of offending.

77I have considered other cases, although I am guided by the recent Court of Appeal and High Court decisions in relation to individualised sentencing, particular in Dalgliesh.  I have done my best to implement Parliament's intent in respect of the Serious Offender's provisions whilst still ensuring that the total sentence meets the totality of your offending in a proportion and just way.

78As I have tried to make clear, my sentence must express proper denunciation of your grave crimes.  The scourge of sexual abuse of children degrades our whole community and leaves permanent and deep scars.  What is required of the court is a firm and unambiguous response in the form of condone punishment.  Decent values must be reasserted.

79Also, the message must be clear to anyone who may contemplate sexually abusing children, that message being that what awaits them is years of imprisonment.  Your rehabilitation is not ignored but, given the gravity of your crimes, must yield to the other sentencing purposes.  As noted, protection of the community is to be the primary sentencing purpose for those offences where you are a serious sexual offender.

80I have taken into account the maximum terms for these offences at the time as set by Parliament.  I state that the correction made by the prosecution to an earlier submission makes it clear that the maximum term for Charge 2, the threat to kill, was two years.  The maximum term for Charge 7 at the time was three years.

81Please stand, Mr Darby.

82Doing the best I can, I sentence you as follows:

83Charge 1, the representative charge of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16 being the younger victim, you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

84Charge 2, being the threat to kill, you are sentenced to one year and three months' imprisonment.

85Charge 3, the charge of an indecent act with a child under the age of 16, in relation to the younger victim, you are sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

86In relation to Charge 4, the sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 when the sexual penetration occurred when she was under your care, supervision, authority - again, the youngest victim - you are sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

87In respect of Charge 5, the indecent act with a child under the age of 16 being younger victim, you are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. 

88Charge 6, indecent act with a child under the age of 16, being the younger victim, you are sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

89Charge 7, the charge of sexual penetration of a child 16 or 17 who was under your care, supervision and authority, it being a representative charge, you are sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment.

90In respect of Charge 8, being the indecent act with a child under the age of 16 in relation to the older victim, you are sentenced to one month imprisonment.

91In respect to Charge 9, an indecent act with a child under the age of 16 being the older victim, you are sentenced to four months' imprisonment.

92In respect to Charge 10, the indecent with a child under the age of 16 being the older victim, you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.

93In respect of Charge 1, one month of Charge 1, nine months of Charge 2, 18 months of Charge 3, six months of Charge 5, six months of Charge 6, 14 months of Charge 7 and six months of Charge 10 will be cumulative upon each other and upon the sentence of 60 months or five years imposed on Charge 4.

94As I calculate it, that is a total effective sentence of 10 years and six months.  And I order that you serve seven years and six months before eligible for parole. 

95Had you pleaded not guilty to these offences and been found guilty of them, I would have imposed a sentence of 11 years and six months' with a minimum non-parole period of eight years and six months'.

96What is the current pre-sentence detention?

97MR MILESI:  Sorry, Your Honour, I am just turning my mind to that.

98HIS HONOUR:  While you look at that, it is the position, as I understand it, Mr Kounnas you will note that for Charges 4 to 10, he is a serious sexual offender because even though it is a violent offence, I think, the threat to kill it does not - it does not trigger?

99MR KOUNNAS:  I agree with that, Your Honour, yes.

100HIS HONOUR:  If I am wrong about that, it is in his favour.  In respect to the serious sexual offender provisions, declare that for Charges 4 through 10, you are a serious sexual offender.  I will ensure that this declaration is entered into the records of the court.  The Sex Offender's Register is for life?

101MR MILESI:  Yes, Your Honour.  PSD is 37 days, Your Honour.

102HIS HONOUR:  Thirty seven days?  I will just return to that.  I have been told and I - it having been reckoned that you have 37 days in custody thus far, that that 37 days having been reckoned, I will declare it is a part of the sentence
I have just imposed.  I will ensure the declaration is entered on to the records of the court so the prison authority is left in doubt.  You have already served 37 days of the sentence that I have just imposed. 

103What are the other orders Mr Milesi?  Is there the Sex Offenders Register,
I assume?  I just have not brought that with me.  Are you alert - alive to all of that?

104MR MILESI:  Alive as to the Sex Offender's Register ‑ ‑ ‑

105HIS HONOUR:  Yes, that he must be registered?  Is that the case?

106MR MILESI:  Yes, for life.

107HIS HONOUR:  Mr Darby, I just had to have it confirmed.  It was clear in my mind but I just needed it confirmed.  But you are by reason of the offences required to register on the Sex Offender's Register.  There is no discretion about that although I would have no hesitation in finding that you are appropriate to be on the Sex Offender's Register.

108The period of time is - there is no discretion about that; it is for life.  What is required now is that I produce to you a document, I sign that I have given you the document, you sign that you have got it.  The key is the content of the document which sets out all the very significant responsibilities that you have upon your release to register and remain and abide by the requirements of the Sex Offender's Register.

109So you will get that document shortly.  Was there an order of retention or 464?

110MR MILESI:  The order for the taking of a sample, Your Honour.

111HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.

112MR MILESI:  464ZF(2) and I have drafts of that order.

113HIS HONOUR:  There is an application properly made that you provide a forensic sample, that is a scraping from your mouth so that you - sufficient biological material can be obtained to then get DNA from it and place it on a date base.  I have considered that application, I intend to grant the application because of the seriousness of the circumstances warrant it and the granting of the order is in the public interest.

114What you have understand is that at the time that the authorities come to get that sample, should you not cooperate with it, they are authorised to use reasonable force to get that sample, all right?  You understand that?  Thank you.  Is there anything else?

115MR MILESI:  I was doing calculations, I am sure Your Honour covered it but can I just confirm Your Honour announced a 6AAA sentence?

116HIS HONOUR:  Yes, 11 years six months with eight years and six months. 
Is there anything further required?

117MR KOUNNAS:  No, Your Honour.

118MR MILESI:  No, Your Honour.

119HIS HONOUR:  Is the mathematics right?

120MR MILESI:  I will confirm that.

121HIS HONOUR:  Thank you, do you need to now leave?

122MR KOUNNAS:  I do, Your Honour, yes.

123HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Mr Darby, your lawyer who has assisted me greatly in this now needs to be somewhere else.  No doubt he will see you before the end of the day, if that is possible.  Thank you, you can be excused and thank you for your assistance.

124MR KOUNNAS:  Thank you, Your Honour.

125HIS HONOUR:  Mr Darby has to remain because he has got to sign things. 
Are you able to confirm the mathematics before Mr Darby is taken away?

126MR MILESI:  Your Honour, by my calculation as I noted down the cumulations, I came to 60 months cumulation.  And I understand that the ‑ ‑ ‑

127HIS HONOUR:  That could not be right.

128MR MILESI:  No, I may have ‑ ‑ ‑

129HIS HONOUR:  I need to go over it.

130MR MILESI:  Yes.

131HIS HONOUR:  Take a seat, Mr Darby.  If you had 60 months, my calculation was 66.  Ten years, six months, not ten years.

132MR MILESI:  Perhaps if I read out as I wrote them down, Your Honour?

133HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

134MR MILESI:  On Count 1, there was one month.  On Count 2, or Charge 2, nine months.

135HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

136MR MILESI:  Charge 3, 18 months.

137HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

138MR MILESI:  Charge 5, six months.

139HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

140MR MILESI:  Charge 6, six months.

141HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

142MR MILESI:  Charge 7, 14 months.

143HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

144MR MILESI:  Charge 10, six months.

145HIS HONOUR:  Yes, correct.  So is it ‑ ‑ ‑ 

146MR MILESI:  I will just double check my mathematics.

147HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  I have miscalculated Mr Darby.

148MR MILESI:  I think that is 60 months, Your Honour?

149HIS HONOUR:  All right.  The sentence that I have imposed is of ten years and the minimum term thereby is seven.

150MR MILESI:  If Your Honour pleases.

151HIS HONOUR:  Are you able to tell us that the sexual penetration charge, Charge 4 is a Class 1 offence and the indecent act charges are Class 2 offences for the Sex Offender Registration.

152MR MILESI:  I can tell you that, Your Honour.

153HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.

154MR MILESI:  So the ones Your Honour is querying are Charge 4, sexual penetration of a child under 16, yes, is Class 1.  And the other one, was that Charge 7 Your Honour enquired about?

155HIS HONOUR:  All of them. All the seven of them.

156TIPSTAFF:  All indecent.

157HIS HONOUR:  All the indecent.

158MR MILESI:  All the indecent ones are Class 2 ‑ ‑ ‑

159HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.

160MR MILESI:  And there are two Class 1 offences.

161HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Yes, what has to be done now, Mr Darby, is just sign the - you acknowledge that you have been given this document.  We have a document signed by you, Mr Derby, as a acknowledge that you have been provided with the Sex Offenders Registration Act notice and that will be forwarded to the Chief Commissioner of Police.  I have signed the documents relating to the 464ZF.  They will be provided to the Crown and Mr Darby.

162MR MILESI:  Thank you, Your Honour.

163HIS HONOUR:  Is there anything else required?

164MR MILESI:  No, Your Honour.

165HIS HONOUR:  Mr Darby, so that you are perfectly clear.  Calculation is a sentence of ten years with a minimum of seven.  There was something else said, that is now corrected; ten years with seven.  And appropriate adjustment to the 6AAA so it becomes 11 with an eight.

166MR MILESI:  Thank you, Your Honour.

167HIS HONOUR:  Thank you, Mr Darby can be removed.

168HIS HONOUR:  Thank you Mr Milesi for your assistance. I will just stand down.

169MR MILEIS:  As Your Honour pleases.

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