Director of Public Prosecutions v De Luise

[2024] VCC 295

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 23-00332

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

FRANCESCO DE LUISE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	12 March 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	14 March 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v De Luise
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 295

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Legislation Cited:

Cases Cited:

Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms C. Duckett	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr D. Dann KC	Amad & Amad

HIS HONOUR:

1Francesco De Luise, you have pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault of an adult, two charges of sexual activity directed at another person and one charge of rape.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of 10 years, five years and 25 years respectively.

2Insofar as the charge of rape is concerned, that is what is known as a standard sentence charge.  The standard sentence is 10 years.  I am well aware of the authorities in relation to the application of that standard sentence provision, commencing with R v Brown and going from there.

3I am aware that it is a guideline to a sentencing judge which plays a part in the instinctive synthesis, and one looks at the objective circumstances without reference to the personal circumstances of the accused.  In this situation, the circumstances that relate to the matter are that each of the victims was alone, each of the victims was intoxicated and effectively, in the circumstances in which they were found, trapped.  They are the objective circumstances of it.

4I am also, as I have just indicated to counsel, grateful for the comparable cases that were given to me, and I take those into account also when I look at how the application of the standard sentence might apply.  In any event, it is part and parcel of the instinctive synthesis, and that is what I will endeavour to proceed to do.

5You, on Charges 4 and 6, will be sentenced as a serious sexual offender.  I am aware that the sentences are to be cumulative unless otherwise ordered.  I will be so ordering for reasons of totality.  I am aware that community protection becomes the principal sentencing purpose, but in your situation, I am satisfied that the risk of you actually reoffending in this way is relatively low.  The Crown do not seek a disproportionate sentence.

6Insofar as the offending is concerned, the Crown have made an application that you be placed on the Sex Offenders Register, and I am grateful again to counsel for providing me with the authority and succinct submissions.

7In any situation such as this, there has to be a risk of reoffending.  The difficulty is that you will not be in the public domain for a significant period of time.  I am told, and I have no reason to doubt, that you will do the Sex Offenders Program whilst in custody.  There are three victims over 18 months, which is obviously a cause for concern, but for the reasons I will be outlining, the risk of you reoffending is not great, and I am not going to enter into dispute about what the word 'real' means, but I think, in fact, when I look at the consequences of that for a man in his 60s, the application of the register would be, in my view, gratuitous, so that application is refused.

8You have no prior convictions, which goes very much in your favour.  You pleaded guilty to a settled indictment, and I am satisfied in this situation that I must give regard to you having remorse.  The situation was that you first expressed remorse to your family after your grant of bail in the Supreme Court.  After that, of course, you continued with a not guilty plea, and the matter effectively went through the committal process and on for trial.  Whilst I accept the utilitarian purpose has been served by there not being a trial and by the victims not having to be cross-examined at a committal and the saving of cost and the like, it still was a situation where the victims were operating under the apprehension that they would be cross-examined and called liars, I suspect, for quite an extended period of time.  But in any event, there is a utilitarian benefit, and you get the - well, as I say, benefit of that.

9Also, you have pleaded guilty in the time of Worboyes, and again there must be a benefit given for that in terms of settling matters or resolving matters.  In any settled indictment situation, you are perfectly entitled to take the matter to the stage where there is an indictment that you are prepared to plead to, and there is no aggravation in doing that.  I make that clear.

10The situation is that the offending occurred over a period of a year or so, and in my view, it is serious indeed.  There is an uplifted charge of failing to store a category long-arm in a proper manner.  I am not even going to into the detail of that; I will just simply sentence you to seven days to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed on the indictment.

11The summary of the Crown opening has been tendered in any event, but  I do need, in these circumstances, to go through it in a little bit of detail.  I will make it clear that I have watched the video taken by the third victim and I think one has to really see that video to see the seriousness of what occurred to her, the courage and the sensibility that she showed in trying to deal with it.  Words do not really convey what happened to her, and whilst I understand why that video has not been played - and I do not think it should be played as a public document - it is of real significance in this sentencing process, and it is tendered, and anybody who has got a genuine interest, I suspect, is able to see it.

12But in any event, the three victims here were Ms Georgie Green,[1] Ms Tessa McCulloch[2] and Ms Isabel Walters.[3] 

[1] A pseudonym.

[2] A pseudonym.

[3] A pseudonym.

13On 30 January 2021, Ms Green was with a friend at the Welcome to Thornbury bar in Thornbury, in High Street.  They left early in the evening and caught an Uber to a retro club in Lonsdale Street.  She remained there for a few hours, obviously drinking, and ordered an Uber before leaving the premises a few minutes before it was due to arrive.

14You, Mr De Luise, arrived, and I am not going enter into debate about all of that, but in any event, you drove away with her in your vehicle.  She believed she was in an Uber, and you knew she believed that.  I am not making a beyond reasonable doubt finding that people were lured into vehicles. I have discussed that with your counsel, and again that is a matter which could occupy about 30 pages of discussion, but I do not propose to do that here, and it will not be an aggravating circumstance.

15But in any event, within a few seconds of driving the vehicle, you started touching her upper-right thigh, and it was clearly your intention to do so when she got in.

16She had her head down and she felt as though she was going to vomit, and hit your arm away saying 'stop it'.  You said 'oh come on', 'just let me', placed your hand back on her thigh and continued to rub it.  She again hit you away and told you to stop, but you did it back, straight back again.  That was repeated about four or five times.  She said she just felt like vomiting and you pull over and she vomited and you then continued to drive.  You started rubbing her leg, leaving your hand on her crutch area, placed your entire hand over her vaginal area and started squeezing, as she said 'right between her legs'.  When she told you to stop it and she pushed your hand away from her vaginal area and you said 'Come on, give me a shot' and put your hand back on her legs again.  That is the first charge of sexual assault.

17She stated, then started 'let me out, let me out' and opened the passenger door and eventually you drove off, still having her bag in the car.  She got to a McDonald's and people were alerted from there and the matter was reported to police but did not go much further.

18I do not need to go through all the forensic details that took place after that. 

19The second victim is Ms McCulloch and she had been working at the Rising Festival held in Melbourne.

20On 12 June she met with two friends at a bar in Rathdowne Street, North Carlton and had a number of glasses of wine.  At approximately 8 o'clock she left that bar and walked to the Great Northern in Rathdowne Street where she drank some cider.  At approximately half past 10 she went to the Sydney Myer Music Bowl where there was a party and the next morning at approximately 12.30 am she left the Bowl and she said she felt intoxicated but not 'excessively drunk'.  As she left she thought she was walking towards St Kilda Road.  It was cold and raining and she had her arm out to hail a cab when you pulled over, telling her to 'get in, get in'.

21She assumed the vehicle was an uber that she ordered and got in the back seat.  You told her to get in the front, which she did.  When she got into the back seat you told her 'I'm a bit drunk, I've been drinking'.  She said she needed to go to Collins Street.  You said you would take her there but you 'needed to take a piss first'.  She did not want to wait in the rain so she just overlooked that and that occurred, you did do that.  You then told her to get in the front seat because of the problem with the back door.  She thought that if she just got in the front seat you would get there sooner, and she did. 

22Once she got in there you said to her 'you've got really lovely legs' and put your left hand over her right lower thigh area, rubbing up and down to her underwear.  You were unable to touch her underwear or her vagina and asked her to pull up her dress and show you her legs.  At that time she said 'stop it, I feel really uncomfortable and want to get out' and apparently she took a photograph of your hand on her leg.  She then sent that photo to her boyfriend saying essentially that you were trying to feel her up. 

23In any event, you took your left hand from her leg and placed it on the steering wheel and continued driving.  Using your right hand you took your penis from your pants, started masturbating, telling her 'just give me two minutes and I'll come, I just need two minutes'.  That is Charge 3 of sexual activity directed at another person, the touching of the leg obviously and in the area of the vagina is Charge 2.  Again, she ultimately escaped, if it can be put that way.

24On 2 September 2022 the third victim, Ms Walters, was at home with some housemates.  They went out around about 10 o'clock, walked to a number of hotels in Richmond.  They met with friends and continued drinking. 

25At approximately 1 am on 3 September Ms Walters, believed there was an Uber coming to pick her up from the Chapel Street direction, so she crossed over the road, and this is happening in Richmond.  You then pulled up and stopped and she spoke with you, she thought you were an Uber and again I will not repeat what I said before about conversations, she got into the front passenger seat.  She told her partner, or I think he was, he might have been a friend, that she was in an Uber.  He tried to tell her that it was not.  It was not heard.

26You then started driving.  After you started driving you reached over your left hand and tried to push her skirt up and touch her on the right thigh.  You moved your left hand up towards her vagina saying 'you don't care do you, you don't care, you got in the car' - and again I have heard that on the tape - whilst rubbing her thigh.  She then tried to move her legs towards the passenger door.  That is Charge 4, sexual assault and it keeps going on after that.

27She began to realise that you were not an Uber driver.  She felt scared.  She did not know where you were taking so. You started grabbing at her right thigh again with your left hand, squeezing it harder and again this 'you don't care' line, that again I have heard.

28She was able to contact her boyfriend and police were called for assistance.  She again tried to move away.  She did not try to push you away, she did not want you to get angry and do something stupid because you were driving with one hand.  You said it was getting too hard and pulled over, telling her that you 'wanted to pull' yourself saying 'you don't care, you don't care if I pull myself'.

29She understood what you were saying and was trying not to cry.  You stopped the vehicle in an unknown location.  She put her phone on audio record and placed it in the seat behind her.  You then got out of the driver's seat, walked around to where she was sitting, opened the door, you pulled up her skirt while taking your penis out of your pants and masturbating with your right hand.  That is the Charge 5, sexual activity directed at another person.

30You then used your left hand to rub the outside of her vagina, then placed your fingers inside her vagina, moving them in and out a little bit and flicking her vagina.  You were trying to get your fingers further into her vagina and pulling her skirt up.  You said to her 'can I lick it and see it?' and she replied 'no' repeatedly, telling you that she was uncomfortable and had a boyfriend.  You basically ignored that and said 'do you want me to stop?' but whilst not stopping.

31In any event, you got back into the vehicle and then trying to get your fingers into her vagina and be able to touch her vagina on the outside.  There was then a conversation about did she work for a barrister or a lawyer, trying to scare you.  You told her that you were ex-law enforcement or something along those lines.  You then again tried to masturbate, grabbed her on her thigh again.  It was at that point in time that there was a honk on a horn, and she was able to see her boyfriend's vehicle.

32She told you that was her boyfriend and you told her to tell him 'I'm your Uber driver.  Tell him I'm your Uber driver'.  The vehicle stopped and you effectively drove away.  Ultimately, I do not need to go through the forensics.  You were arrested and again, I am not going to go through the details of it, I mentioned it the other day during the course of the plea.  You seemed to recall each incident, basically said that either nothing happened or that it was, if it did it was instigated - are you right?

33When you were interviewed you essentially said that either nothing happened or that the lady was the aggressor, or endeavoured to kiss you, or flashed her legs at you.  A total exercise in denying any responsibility and essentially victim blaming.  It shows at that point in time at least, absolutely no insight on my view into the effect that you were having, or had had, on these young women.  But in any event as I have indicated, you ultimately pleaded guilty and I will be certainly taking that into account on your behalf and the 6AAA indication will indicate that that is indeed the case.

34That is the offending.  It is serious, as is indicated.  It is aggravated, if that is the right expression, and made more serious by the sheer vulnerability and powerlessness of these three young women in your hands, in a situation that they were unable to escape from.  In the normal course of events of course there is the application of general and specific deterrence, clearly denunciation and an element of community protection, but I have been through that, and an appropriate punishment and it is those matters I now turn towards.

35Tendered and one of which was read out in court were two victim impact statements.  The first of Ms McCulloch, as I said and I will not be reading these fully, they are on the court file:

The man who abducted me in his car that night displayed joy and excitement at my horrification.  He displayed sexual arousal at my fear.  It was insidious and still makes my palms sweat.  My heart rate increased, and my breathing fastened to think of what happened and also what didn't but could have.  This was intentional on his part, and he enjoyed it and it broke me to my deepest core and the aftershock of that remains ongoing…  I had no power over where he took me or  how fast it went or what the driver did...  The weeks after the event left me feeling deeply depressed, anxious, under slept, and incredibly ashamed.  I was too embarrassed to tell my friends what had happened, I blamed myself… how could this happen, why was it happening to me. The strain it put on my personal relationships… [and] created distance between the people I needed most…

36She went on to say how she went to her doctor and the like and she described how hurt she was to find out later on that there had been another victim after her.

37The self-blame and the shame and the like are all totally unjustified but such common consequences to victims in offending such as this, and one of the reasons why it is regarded as serious.

38Ms Walters was the third victim and the victim of the actual rape, and as I already indicated, in my view, showed great courage in the way she was able to try and deal with these things.  She said inter alia:

The actions of the defendant have caused me immense suffering, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in the 18 months that have followed...  My safety and security have been broken in many ways.  I developed a fear of travelling alone and using services including Uber.  I developed a distrust of men. I gained a fear reaction to seeing the same model of car. A fear reaction to seeing middle aged men. A fear reaction of leaving a bar alone.  These concepts should not cause anyone such a reaction, yet upon encounter, unbearable panic arises.

39She went on to say how it affected her relationships with her friends and she had a sense of isolation and loneliness.  She said that the months following the assault were 'extremely lonely and dark' with emotional instability.  She was having flashbacks, having panic attacks, and waking at night with nightmares.

40She ended up having to be medicated for sleep and treated for depression.  She is still medicated.  She pointed out how the severity of the assault on her and the effect of the assault on her affected her relationships with family and friends, and again repeated this a number of times in this victim impact statement, the sense of loneliness and powerlessness I suppose is the other word, that this sort of offending causes.

41She said the assault made her feel weak and sent her to the darkest state of mind she has ever been in.  She goes on to describe that again about having depression, panic attacks whenever anything triggered memories of it.  She said it caused the demise of the relationship with her partner over a period of time because being with him kept reminding her of it.

42She again goes on to describe over the last 18 months, any time she is contacted for the case or anything like that she would absolutely spiral, and still does to this day.  She thinks about it a lot and it has caused suicidal ideation, breakdowns, sleep troubles, all sorts of problems.  She said:

Another effect I haven't yet spoken about was the feeling of hating my own body,  I didn't think such self-loathing was possible.  I felt responsible, I blame myself for what happened, I felt I was disgusting and vile.  I hated my body so much that as mentioned my eating disorder relapsed.  On the days I felt so mentally disgusting, I would make my body feel the same,  I binged until my body felt as sick as it could before I would then starve myself for days.  In my mind it was the punishment I gave my body for enduring the assault. 

In the days after the assault I remember trying to scrub him away. As much as I tried to take away that feeling, I could still feel his fingers inside of me, still feel his hands on my body - I will never forget that feeling… 

As much as I try, no amount of words will ever be able to explain how it feels to have your own body intruded on, to have your safety and security ripped away.

43And in my view, in essence, that is almost a definition of the consequences of rape.  Rape such as this, and again I repeat not too often having watched the video, this is an exercise in male entitlement.  It has to be absolutely condemned as such.

44In any event, the other victim elected not to do a victim impact statement, which is entirely her right.  Those victim impact statements, as I said, outline the seriousness of offending such as this and why there needs to be appropriate punishment.

45It is common ground that a head sentence with a minimum term is the only option available here.  It has to be one of significance.  I was given as I have already indicated some very helpful cases by your counsel, in terms of current sentencing practices. That action on his part has assisted you, I can assure you of that, and I take that into account for what they are worth.

46Your counsel made submissions on your behalf.  I take into account - actually I do not know if these all got tendered.  I said I was going to, then I do not think I did.

47#EXHIBIT 1 -   References.

48#EXHIBIT 2 -   Submissions of counsel.

49#EXHIBIT 3 -   Report of Mr Cummins.

50#EXHIBIT 4 -   Balance of documents as a bundle.

51MR DANN:  If Your Honour please.

52HIS HONOUR:  Yes, thank you for that.

53Your circumstances are that your parents were engaged in Italy and married in Australia and came, as I have just indicated, to this country where you were born.  Your father passed away in 1995 and your mother lives in Northcote and is now 85.

54I have had medical material put before me on your behalf which shows that she is ageing, lives in difficult circumstances and is not well.  It does not reach the exceptional circumstances stage of Markovich, but I certainly take into account that your being imprisoned for a significant period of time, so far as your mother is concerned, will have a very significant effect on you. It should cause you a great guilt for what you have done and I take that into account as making gaol harder for you.  You have siblings and you have children.

55Your education was that you went to primary school at Holy Spirits in Thornbury if I recall.  You went to Marist Brothers College or Redan I think it was called at that stage in Fitzroy. 

56You have always worked, you had a panel beating apprenticeship in Brunswick and you did that over four years.  You worked in a pizza shop that was owned by your father.  You worked as a delivery driver with Readymix for about 15 years.  You operated a supermarket in Strathmore for about 15 years.  And I point out that the references all say that up until this offending commenced, you were a person of impeccable character within the community and a very good provider for your family. 

57It is clear from the references that have been tendered that when you were at the supermarket in Strathmore you were very community minded.  You provided food for kids, you provided oranges - this is perhaps a silly example but a good example - for the local footy club for their three quarter time breaks, and obviously did everything you could.  You have three children, supported in court by at least one of them and a daughter-in-law and I have read the references that have been given to me by them.

58What has been put is that you in around - and I will deal with this again in a moment when I go through Mr Cummins' report - but in around 2019 or around that period of time you had invested in a property and effectively building units, to use the vernacular that went pear shaped and you got into serious financial difficulties.  I will come back to that in a moment.

59You also in July of 2022 were in a motor vehicle collision where another person died.  As I understand the material you suffered fractured ribs, back injuries and have been unable - there was probably psychological injuries - and have been unable to work since.  From what I can gather you have been on WorkCover since July.

60The offending obviously commenced significantly prior to that day and commenced against afterwards.  You were unable to work because of your physical injuries and inability to move and the like.  The video that I have watched would tend to suggest that that is perhaps not the real situation, but that has got nothing to do with me.

61In any event, all those difficulties you say that you ended up psychologically damaged and that you began drinking heavily and you in one point in time to Mr Cummins said, you would not have done this offending unless you were intoxicated.  Again referring back to the video, you do not appear too intoxicated to me.  You were perfectly capable on each of these occasions of driving with one hand and whilst I take into account those matters, it is with some dubiousness that I do.

62I make it clear there are a number of matters put on your behalf that I am dubious about, but that is not what sentencing is about.  I make no findings against you beyond reasonable doubt at all in those regards and I will take what your counsel has said to me at face value.  I will refer to that when I go to the report of Mr Cummins, which in fact I will do now.

63Mr Cummins examined you in March or around about March of 2024.  His report is tendered, it is on file.  I do not think I need to go into great deal, there are just a few things I want to mention.  He pointed out the injuries suffered by you in the car accident of the July of 2022.  He also had a report, which I do not believe I have seen, of a treating psychologist which you were diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression and not capable of work.  That all seems to relate to the car collision where the person was killed and I do not need to go into those details, they are all there.

64You then when talking to him went into details about the purchase in Strathmore, which was in 2017, of five townhouses in 2019.  You told him that the townhouses are nearly completed, and you owe a bit over 6 million on the townhouses and you have been told you would be lucky if you get 1.25 million for each townhouse.  You came across - and I am not being critical of anybody - but it is not as if you have $6m with no capacity to pay.  It seems on the material here that the property is sufficient to cover that debt.  As I understand it, the real problem here has been the inability to sell it, the penalties, all sorts of things being imposed by lenders and a spiralling set of financial circumstances relating to interest and all those sorts of matters.

65Your wife is now 58 and you have never been separated.  You started dating in your late teens.  Your wife has worked during the course of your marriage and I understand she is working again.  She also has been very involved as a carer in relation to your mother, who as I already indicated, resides in Northcote.

66You have three children, a 34 year old son, a 30 year old son who is assisting with this property development which is still in progress as I understand it, and a 28 year old daughter. 

67You were as I said born in Italy and it is clear and I do not have to go into detail as it is clear from the materials, that up until this time you were a hardworking man, supporting your family and very involved in your community.  Again I have been through the work record and the references speak highly of you in that regard.

68The report then goes on to repeat more and more about the consequences of the motor vehicle collision and how you began to womanise and drink with various people.  You essentially said that when you were driving home after these drinking sessions, these women would sometimes think you were a taxi driver, an Uber driver and said they wanted a lift.

… when I was drunk and I'd go along with that. There's no excuse for what I did.  I would never have done what I did if I hadn't been under the influence of alcohol and if I hadn't been thinking that my life was over.  I feel bad for the women who I assaulted – it hurts me to think about what I’ve done.

69As I indicated to your counsel, I take that into account as an example of remorse.  I think there is also an element of denial in that.  This occurred on three separate occasions.  You knew what you had done each and every time and then you did it again.  It is clear from what I have read and what I have seen and heard, that the offending commenced very quickly after the driving commenced, and to present yourself as some sort of good Samaritan, if that is what you are trying to do, does not work.

70Mr Cummins then goes on to say that you had problems with stress and coping which were initially being treated in relation to the financial difficulties concerning the development of the townhouses, and were then exacerbated after the injuries in the fatal truck accident.  I accept that proposition.

71He then went on to say that in terms of the mental disorder domain, he interpreted your offending behaviour as being opportunistic and situationally motivated.  I do not accept that.  As I have indicated to your counsel, this did not happen by accident, any of it.

72He went on to categorise you as being a low to moderate risk of reoffending.  I expressed over many years now my almost disbelief sometimes as how these assessments work but I, in this situation agree with him, perhaps not for the reasons that he gives.  At your age, bearing in mind the consequences of what has occurred, bearing in mind what has occurred to your family, bearing in mind the humiliation you have put your entire family through, and bearing in mind that you will, if you want to get out of gaol, have to do a sexual offender's program, I am prepared to also accept that for these purposes, even though I have no idea what the Parole Board will do, that the risks of you reoffending in this way are low to moderate in the future.  I sentence on that basis as suggested by Mr Cummins.

73He then goes through the PTSD or complex PTSD and he went on to say towards the end of his report:

In my opinion his perception, judgement and reasoning ability was impaired (at least to some degree) when he was offending - reflective of his mental health problems which were triggered by the go slow on the property development.  At interview, he presented as a genuine interviewee and I did not assess him as someone who was exaggerating…

74I tend to agree with that and I will be taking those matters into account, at least to some degree in effect.  I think in your particular situation, specific deterrence is going to be fulfilled by the sentences to be imposed.  I think general deterrence can be moderated to a certain extent in the sense of moral culpability, but not a great deal. 

75You have a number of medical issues, none of which appear untreatable in gaol, but I accept because of your mental condition, your physical conditions are limbs 5, and potentially at least limb 6, of Verdins come into play, but it is a bit hard to do that these days with a gaol that caters especially for ageing sex offenders.  And I as best I can take those matters into account.  I am also doing that in circumstances where I am aware of the reasoning of other County Court judges in similar matters. 

76You will also have the difficulty of your family somehow having to get through all these financial crises without any assistance from you.  That will be no one's fault but yours.  All those matters will make gaol harder for you than they would for a person in a different situation.

77Again, I am not going to go through the references in detail.  There is a large element of disbelief which is understandable in these sorts of circumstances, but I take them into account in terms of your previous good history, which you are now obviously entitled to call into account.

78Your rehabilitation is going to be a matter for you and the Parole Board.  I cannot do much about that.  As I said, the risk of your reoffending is low, or low to moderate, and I take that into account.

79I do not know that there is much else I can say.  As I have indicated, that is subject to if there is anything I have left out I will do it and this reasoning certainly will not change, but in the end they have to be gaol sentences and they have to be sentences which reflect the seriousness of what you have done. 

80It is a situation where totality has to play a part and accordingly there will be significant concurrency, and I also have to endeavour to avoid a sentence which can be seen as crushing, which is always a difficult proposition in these circumstances. 

81You face the very real possibility, probability probably, that your mother will pass away whilst you are in custody.  I take that into account as well.  Again, that will be a matter for authorities at a later time.  It would appear to me that having looked at the long list of medications that you take, that there is little or nothing that will not be available to you in a custodial situation.  On your ultimate release you hopefully will still have family support.  You have endured the shame of all this.  You have had the public denunciation of this.  And it is just now a question of when you ultimately get out of endeavouring to get on with the rest of your life.

82You have now had 97 days in custody.  I sentence you as follows.

83Charge 1, 2 years.

84Charge 2, 2 years.

85Charge 3, 18 months.

86Charge 4, 2 years.

87Charge 5, 18 months.

88Charge 6, 6 years.

89I direct that 12 months of the sentence imposed on Charge 1, nine months of the sentence imposed on Charge 2, nine months of the sentence imposed on Charge 3 be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on Charge 6.  The sentences on Charges 4 and 5 are to be served concurrently.  That gives a total effective sentence of eight and a half years.

90I direct that you serve a minimum term of six years before becoming eligible for parole and I direct that 97 days be reckoned as having been served under this sentence.

91Insofar as s6AAA is concerned, I note from what I could gather that all the cases that were provided to me there, were as a result of pleas of guilty and nothing wrong with me saying that they surprised me a little bit in terms of the lengths of the sentences imposed in terms of duration.  What I will say is that, that as far as 6AAA is concerned had you fought this out and those girls been called - the ladies sorry I should call them - those ladies been called liars and put through the ordeal of that, and you had been convicted of these matters, I would have sentenced you to be imprisoned for a period of 13 years with a minimum term of nine.

92Are there any other orders I need to make?  Disposal orders?

93MS DUCKETT:  No, there's no other orders required than that, given Your Honour's indication in relation to SORA, there's no other orders needed.

94HIS HONOUR:  Look can I indicate this, this is a situation where, where you have got multiple complainants, in those circumstances the serious sexual offenders about community protection.  Now my view, when he's ultimately released, that's not a concern here so the sentences have not been increased - just so there's no misunderstandings - it's exactly what I would have done if he wasn't because the sentences open to me, in my view, are adequate. 

95That's why I'm - yes, that's right.  So that will be what - so serious sex offender on ‑ ‑ ‑

96MR DANN:  Charges 4 and 6.

97HIS HONOUR:  Four and six.

98MS DUCKETT:  Yes, Your Honour.

99HIS HONOUR:  All right, and that will be noted in the court register.

100MR DANN:  The court pleases.

101MS DUCKETT:  The court pleases.

102MR DANN:  Your Honour, we were just going to seek the opportunity to speak to Mr De Luise up here?

103HIS HONOUR:  Yes, no of course.  Yes, no of course.

104MR DANN:  Thank you.

105HIS HONOUR:  What normally happens in situations they'd directly be taken down.  Mr Dann has got to be elsewhere, so if you could just hold him here while Mr Dann has a quick yarn to him, I appreciate that.

106MR DANN:  Your Honour please.

107HIS HONOUR:  Otherwise, there's no other?

108MR DANN:  No, Your Honour.

109HIS HONOUR:  All right, and could I just say to Ms Walters, it was very courageous the way she read her victim impact statement out the other day.  I thought that was very courageous indeed.

110MS DUCKETT:  She is online, Your Honour.

111HIS HONOUR:  Yes, all right.

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