Director of Public Prosecutions v Dimitrios

[2017] VCC 1752

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR -17-00484

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SOUVAN DIMITRIOS

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE LACAVA
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	16 November 2017
DATE OF SENTENCE:	24 November 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Dimitrios
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1752

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:         1 charge stalking

Sentence:      3 year Community Corrections order

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms R. Harper
For the Accused	Mr W. Barker

HIS HONOUR: 

1Dimitrios Souvan, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking for which the maximum penalty is ten years' imprisonment.  The offending occurred between 16 April 2014 and 7 May 2014. 

2The circumstances of the offending are contained in an amended summary of prosecution opening, dated 13 November 2017.  That summary was summarised in open court by the learned prosecutor.  It is not necessary that I here repeat that which is there set out, except in a very abbreviated way.

3Your offending arose in a period shortly after a sexual encounter that you had had with the victim.  You may have been justifiably distraught at the way in which that encounter ended and the circumstances of the encounter and that, in part, explains your offending.  But it does not excuse the way in which you continually harassed the victim of this crime for a period of approximately three weeks in April and early May 2014.

4During that time, you harassed the victim via mobile telephone, text messaging and adopting various identities on websites where you knew that your victim would be having access.

5On 20 April, between 2 am in the morning and almost midday, ten hours later, you called the victim's mobile phone number 312 times.  The following day, on 21 April, you phone another 171 times.  The opening is replete with messages that you sent in various forms and you arranged or left messages on various websites which resulted in people unknown to the victim arriving at his house uninvited.

6This conduct by continually harassing the victim of this crime was intense but fortunately confined to a period of some three weeks.

7There can be no doubt in my view that this offending can be properly categorised as a serious example of what is a serious offence.  Offending of this kind requires a sentence that is driven by proper application of the principle of general deterrence and in normal circumstances, that would result in the imposition of a term of imprisonment.

8However, I have been persuaded here that that is not the appropriate course to take.  I have been persuaded because of your background and general mental health circumstances and by the fact that this offending occurred about three years ago, over three years ago, and you have not reoffended.

9Your counsel, in his first submissions, submitted that I should deal with the matter by an adjourned undertaking without conviction.  In my view, that submission is unrealistic in the extreme.

10You pleaded guilty to this charge and you indicated that you would do so just before a contested committal was to take place.  Because you have pleaded guilty, you have saved the time and cost of both a committal and trial.  You are entitled to a reduction in sentence.  This will be reflected in the sentence that I will shortly pass. 

11I take your plea of guilty and the timing of it as evidencing genuine remorse on your part for your crime.  

12Your counsel filed with the court a helpful written outline in which he told me much about you.  You are one of three children.  Your parents are both professional people residing in Queensland.  You completed high school and went on to study, taking a double degree at university in maths and business.  You ultimately graduated with a degree in business specifically economics and finance.

13You have generally been gainfully employed.  You had jobs at Woolworths and Coles and various other places in Melbourne and in 2014, you commenced work with the State Government in this state.  That seems to be work that you were good at and you thrived at and your performances were good.  Unfortunately, it seems that you were bullied and this led to a deterioration in your mental health and you left that employment.

14Much has been written over a long period of time about your health.  I received into evidence a number of reports relating to your early childhood and psychiatric and psychological care.  You have been diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum and suffer from Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, anxiety and depression.  As well as that, you have had a lot of difficulties in your life.  At age five, you suffered from meningitis and at age 17, you were diagnosed as being potentially anorexic.

15In 2017, you had been the victim of an unfortunate physical assault, which left you with your ear being bitten off.

16It is necessary to understand much about your background and psychological and psychiatric health because it, in part, helps to explain your reaction to this encounter, sexual encounter, that has triggered the events resulting in this offending.  Your counsel submitted, and I agree, that you are a relatively youthful offender.  You have no prior or pending matters.

17You lack social skills and this played a role in the offending I think.  I have read references about you provided by your parents and by your brother.  They are excellent references and it is very clear to me that you have very good family support.  I am comforted in the fact that because of that support, you have reasonable prospects for rehabilitation via the community corrections order that I propose to impose.

18I agree that you have shown and demonstrated remorse and I think that the sooner this episode is put behind you, the better.  In his written outline, your counsel submitted that Verdins Principles should apply in this matter.  I do not accept that Principles 1, 2 and 3 apply but I do accept that I must have regard to your state of mental health and your general disposition in arriving at the kind of sentence that I should impose.

19The general purposes of sentencing are deterrence, both general and specific, denunciation and rehabilitation.  In your case, you have no prior criminal history and there is nothing to suggest that you will again offend.  I have taken the view having considered all of the evidence, that the purposes of sentencing are best met in this case by the imposition of a community corrections order.

20One of the medical reports tendered on your behalf was a psychological report prepared by Mr David Ball.  That history set out by him and his opinions show that from time to time, you have had problems with alcohol and although I am satisfied that you are not a full time drug user, there are occasions when you have used illicit drugs.  For those reasons, the community corrections order that I will impose has conditions in it to address those matters.

21I had you assessed for suitability for a community corrections order.  You have been assessed as being a medium risk of reoffending.  One of the matters raised and discussed in court this morning with your counsel is whether or not there should be a condition that you undergo the Sex Offenders Program.  I will be imposing conditions for treatment and rehabilitation, drug assessment treatment, mental health treatment, the assessor has recommended the imposition of a sex offenders program that be undertaken by you in view of the fact that this offending I think was triggered by a sexual encounter and your reaction to the way in which it ended.  I think it is appropriate that I accept the assessor's recommendation and I will impose that condition.

22On the charge of stalking, with conviction, I make a community corrections order for a period of three years.  There will be the conditions that I have already mentioned together with a condition that you undertake unpaid community work of 150 hours over the three year period and there will be a condition of the order that any time that you spend undertaking rehabilitation programs, be deducted from the amount of community work that you have to undertake.

23For the purposes of s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act, had it not been for the plea of guilty to the charge, I would have imposed a term of imprisonment of three years and I would have ordered that you serve a minimum period of two years before being eligible for release on parole.

24Are there any other matters, any matters arising out of that?

25MR BARKER:  No, Your Honour.

26MS HARPER:  Not arising out of that.  There's the 464ZF(2) order that application that was made for it the other day, Your Honour.

27HIS HONOUR:  Yes, is that opposed, Mr Barker?

28MR BARKER:  No, I indicated that in the plea, Your Honour.

29HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Mr Souvan, I have been asked to make what is called a forensic sample order.  It has not been opposed and I think because of the seriousness of your offending and it is in the interest and administration of justice and the public interest that I sign it.  What it means is that within eight weeks, you will have to attend at the Heidelberg police station for the purposes of providing a swab from your mouth, do you understand?

30OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

31HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Just come out of the dock, if you would, thank you, Mr Souvan.

32Now, Mr Souvan, you understand what this means, do you?

33OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

34HIS HONOUR:  The community corrections order?

35OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

36HIS HONOUR:  There are some things you must not do.  You must not commit another offence during the period of this order, that is for the next three years.  If you do so, you will be brought back before me, do you understand?

37OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

38HIS HONOUR:  And I can resentence you on these matters, do you understand that?

39OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

40HIS HONOUR:  The other thing is, what you must do, you must comply with the order in every way.  That is to say you must attend at Community Corrections and obey their directions, do you understand?

41OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

42HIS HONOUR:  They will want you to undergo some course and things like that.  It is all designed to try and help you.  So please embrace it and complete the order.  I wish you luck.

43OFFENDER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

44HIS HONOUR:  Very well.  You are free to go.

45OFFENDER:  Thank you.

46MS HARPER:  May it please the court.

47HIS HONOUR:  Thank you, Ms Harper, thank you, Mr Barker.

48MR BARKER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

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