Director of Public Prosecutions v Denittis, Luke
[2013] VCC 353
•22 March 2013
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised (Not) Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-13-00074
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| LUKE DENITTIS |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE WILMOTH | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 20 March 2013 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 22 March 2013 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Denittis, Luke | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2013] VCC 353 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: criminal law
Catchwords: one charge of recklessly causing serious injury - accused abandoned by mother as infant - dysfunctional childhood with father who became mentally ill – homeless as teenager- lives in youth refuge - now aged 20 – youthful offender - completed secondary schooling and some post-secondary qualifications in community youth work - engaged in counselling therapy – good prospects for rehabilitation – very remorseful – early PG
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence: 15 months YJC
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms M. Zammit | |
| For the Accused | Mr L. Gwynn |
HER HONOUR:
1 Luke Denittis, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of recklessly causing serious injury.
2 You attacked the victim, Jonathan Raven, and as a result, he lost his right eye. Mr Raven has provided a victim impact statement in which he sets out very clearly the terrible impact your attack has had upon him, and I shall return to that later.
3 The details of the offending are that on 20 October 2012 the victim was at the Corner Hotel in Swan Street, Richmond with two female friends in the early evening. An hour or two later he saw his ex girlfriend, Montana Ogelthorpe, in the hotel and she asked him why he had brought the two friends he was with. He told her to go away and pushed her. She had since become your girlfriend and you were aware that she had had a difficult time in the relationship with Mr Raven. She telephoned you complaining that she had been punched and had had beer poured over her.
4 As a result, you and a number of friends went to the hotel, where you met
Ms Ogelthorpe outside. A short time later Mr Raven went outside to have a cigarette accompanied by his two female friends. They spoke to
Ms Ogelthorpe and decided to leave the hotel. As Mr Raven walked along Swan Street towards Richmond Railway Station, he passed a doorway or alcove where you were standing. You emerged from the alcove and, without warning, punched him to the side of the face and he fell to the ground. You then kicked him to the head and face. You and your friends then left.
Mr Raven was taken to hospital by ambulance. He was told in hospital that his eyeball was ruptured and the eye could not be saved, and subsequently it was removed and a prosthetic eye inserted.
5 It is not clear either from the CCTV footage, which was shown in court, or from the witness statements or the medical evidence whether the injury to the eye was caused by the punch to the face or the kick to the face making contact. Your instructions to your counsel are that you do not believe contact was made from the kicking motion, although the footage shows movement of some force.
6 Three days later you heard police were looking for you, so you presented yourself to the Richmond Police Station, where you were arrested. In your interview with the police you denied knowing Mr Raven and declined to answer questions. You were remanded in custody overnight and released on bail the next day. Accordingly, there are two days of pre-sentence detention which are to be reckoned as already served, and I shall note that on the court record.
7 You pleaded guilty at a very early stage, at the committal mention in January, and the hearing of this plea has been expedited as a result. You are entitled to a discount on your sentence for that plea as you have avoided the need for a trial and, importantly, witnesses do not have to give evidence.
8 The maximum penalty for this offence is 15 years' imprisonment. Because you are a young person, aged 20, you are able to be sentenced to a youth detention centre rather than adult prison, and I have received a pre-sentence report in that regard.
9 I also received a report from a Corrections Officer who assessed your suitability for a Community Corrections Order, but you told him you regarded your offending as too serious for that disposition and you would prefer to be placed in some form of imprisonment.
10 It is unusual but not rare for an offender to wish to be able to expiate their guilt through punishment, and that attitude is consistent with the assessment others have made of you, about which I have read in letters and reports tendered on the plea. I shall return to those matters later in these sentencing remarks.
11 I noted at the outset that the victim suffered very serious consequences of the attack. His victim impact statement describes with poignancy, and with clarity, the immediate effects of the attack and its longer term effects.
12 Apart from the bruises and tenderness he suffered, he has lost his eye and experienced pain and trauma associated with that, which continues to the present day. He states that he is constantly blinking as if trying to clear something out and his right eye is constantly wet. He has to keep wiping the wetness away. He experiences discomfort, disorientation and clumsiness when walking, driving, shaving and moving amongst people. He has trouble reading, watching TV and pursuing hobbies he used to enjoy. He has lost some of his independence and feels isolated, as it is hard for him to go out and he associates less with his friends. He has become sad, depressed and anxious. He can no longer work as a carpenter, and his other career prospects have ended. He lives on social welfare benefits.
13 There is no doubt that the effects of this assault have been very serious indeed. Violence of the sort that often erupts from thoughtless individuals for whatever reason can tragically produce such serious unintended consequences. In this case Mr Raven will suffer those consequences for the rest of his life, and it will be obvious that the sentence I impose must send a clear message to others that such violent behaviour will result in harsh punishment. That is what is meant by the principle of general deterrence.
14 I must also consider your need for specific deterrence, and for that purpose I have been referred to a number of sources of information about your circumstances.
15 You are aged 20, about to turn 21. Your mother left you in the care of your father when you were a baby, and he cared for you until his marriage to Sue Paten when you were very young, and she then cared for you as your stepmother.
16 The marriage ended when you were seven, and Ms Paten had minimal contact with you until you were 13 or 14, by which time your father had long since developed poor mental health, displaying bizarre and violent behaviour and could no longer care for you. You were subject to very bad neglect during your early teenage years, living on the street and not going to school until you were placed in a youth refuge and returned to school, where you succeeded in completing your secondary education. By then you were more settled and began casual work and playing organised sport. You regularly saw your younger half sister, the daughter of Ms Paten, and you studied for certificates in community work with a view to becoming a youth worker.
17 Ms Paten, who does similar work, provided a very helpful account of your life and achievements in a letter to the court, stating that violence is completely out of character for you and that you have been profoundly distressed by it. You are very close to her and you have very frequent contact with her.
18 Others have also written of the high regard in which you are held. You have impressed people as having demonstrated an ability to do well in the face of considerable difficulties. You are regarded as a well-adjusted resident of the refuge where you live. You were given a very positive report of your placement undertaken as part of your community work course.
19 Your case manager was sufficiently concerned as to your level of distress to refer you to a psychologist recently. You have seen the psychologist, Dr Chong, several times and he has diagnosed an anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder which he attributes to your childhood experiences of parental abandonment, neglect and violence. He considers you need long-term therapy.
20 You were assessed by the psychologist, Mr Jeffrey Cummins, in January and you told him you were ashamed and remorseful. You also told him that you were fearful of losing your liberty and would prefer to do community work. Your attitude has changed – you now feel a heavy burden of guilt because of the seriousness of the offence and you wish to expiate that guilt by serving time in detention.
21 As a young person, not yet 21, your rehabilitation is regarded as a very important factor in sentencing. Of course, the more serious the crime, the less weight can be assigned to the importance of rehabilitation. Ultimately it is in the interests of the community that you are rehabilitated, but sometimes a period in detention must take precedence over other necessary steps towards rehabilitation.
22 You have been assessed as suitable for youth detention, partly because you would be vulnerable to undesirable influences in adult prison, and that is the order that I will make.
23 In doing so, I take into account your early plea of guilty, your remorse, as demonstrated by that plea, and also by your surrender to police and by the expression of remorse to others. It is also indicated by your preference for detention in the way I have described. I also take into account your youth and what appear to be good prospects for rehabilitation.
24 Would you stand now, please, Mr Denittis.
25 I sentence you to a period of 15 months in youth detention. You have spent two days in pre-sentence detention, as I have already said, and that will be taken into account.
26 If you had pleaded not guilty to this charge, I would have sentenced you to two years' detention.
27 The prosecution seeks an order under s.464ZF of the Crimes Act for a forensic sample of saliva to be obtained.
28 (Discussion ensued re the making of the 464ZF order)
29 In this case there is unusually forceful evidence of remorse and a much reduced likelihood of recidivism. In those circumstances, I will not exercise my discretion to make the order.
30 MS ZAMMIT: As Your Honour pleases.
31 MR GWYNN: If Your Honour pleases.
32 HER HONOUR: Any other matters?
33 MR GWYNN: No, Your Honour.
34 MS ZAMMIT: No, Your Honour.
35 HER HONOUR: Thank you.
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