Director of Public Prosecutions v Edwards, Kylie Michelle
[2013] VCC 37
•1 February 2013
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised (Not) Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-12-01631
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| KYLIE MICHELLE EDWARDS |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | ||
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 1 February 2013 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Edwards, Kylie Michelle | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2013] VCC 37 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr D. Plummer | OPP |
| For the Accused | Mr G. Thomas | G Thomas and Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
1 Kylie Michelle Edwards, you have pleaded guilty to the following charges:
2 One charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury contrary to s.319(1)A of the Crimes Act 1958, the maximum penalty for that offence is five years' imprisonment;
3 Two charges of criminal damage contrary to s.197(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, the maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years' imprisonment;
4 Possession of a drug of dependence, namely Cannabis L, contrary to s.73(1) of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981. In the circumstances of this case the maximum penalty for that offence is a fine of five penalty units.
5 You have also pleaded guilty to the related summary offences of criminal trespass contrary to s.9(1)(e) of the Summary Offences Act 1966, the maximum penalty for that offence is a fine of 25 penalty units or six months' imprisonment;
6 Unlawful assault contrary to s.23 of the Summary Offences Act 1966, the maximum penalty for that offence is a fine of 15 penalty units or imprisonment for three months.
7 The charges that you have pleaded guilty to were commenced in the Magistrates' Court and initially listed for determination in that court. Following negotiations between the parties it was agreed that the matter would proceed in this court and you pleaded guilty at the committal mention on 20 June 2012. I have taken your early pleas of guilty into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence, and I also accept that your plea is evidence of your remorse for your offending.
8 A prosecution opening was read to court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows–
9 On 23 August 2011 at approximately 6.30 p.m. following the ingestion of cannabis and methylamphetamine you drove your vehicle, a Holden Commodore station wagon, from your home in Langwarrin to nearby premises that were occupied by the boyfriend of your daughter Kayla and other persons. You were in an incoherent and disturbed condition. Your six year old daughter Abby was in your vehicle with you. You had previously visited the premises that day and were behaving erratically and in a disturbed manner. The occupants of the premises had told you that you were not welcome there.
10 After arriving at the premises at 6.30 p.m. you knocked on the door and had an incoherent conversation with one of the occupants, Ben Cedelland. He spoke to another occupant, Jamie Corrigan. In the meantime he re‑entered the premises and when Corrigan came to speak to you you punched him in the face. Your daughter Abby was with you at this time and Corrigan told you to leave the premises and you then returned to your vehicle with your daughter. You put her in the front passenger's seat unrestrained. You then drove your car under high acceleration into Corrigan's car causing damage to it. You then accelerated heavily into another of Corrigan's vehicles, a Peugeot, and caused damage to that. After you did this you then drove your car across the road at a high speed and collided with a house occupied by Karen Turner. You then drove away, again at high speed, and collided head‑on with a tree on a nearby naturestrip. Your daughter, Abby, who was unrestrained in the front seat, was catapulted into the front windscreen of your car and suffered serious internal injuries. She was taken by ambulance to the Royal Children's Hospital Emergency Department where she was observed to have a lacerated spleen and a lacerated kidney, amongst other injuries.
11 You were arrested by investigating police and examined for injuries at Frankston Hospital. You subsequently declined to be interviewed by the police.
12 It is clear that your offending may properly be described as very serious, although in my opinion it is also clear that it was the result of the ingestion by you of illegal drugs of dependence and alcohol leading to substantial intoxication and a high degree of disinhibition.
13 I accept that you have little or no memory of your offending and you cannot explain it. Indeed there is no rational explanation for it. Your behaviour, as I observed during the course of the plea hearing, was akin to a psychotic episode which was, as I have already observed, the product of the drugs and alcohol you consumed.
14 I now turn to your personal circumstances. You were born on 12 March 1974 and you are now aged 38 years. You have admitted six prior court appearances in relation to a number of convictions for offences of dishonesty. Your counsel also informed me that you have a subsequent court appearance for offences of careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident for which you were fined $500, but no order was made in relation to your driver's licence. In relation to your prior convictions your last court appearance was in 2003. You have successfully completed four community‑based orders and two suspended sentences over a period of nine years. It would appear that these dispositions were all imposed on you by Magistrates Courts and your offending on those occasions was no doubt the product of your long‑standing drug addiction.
15 It would also appear that your drug addiction has been an ongoing issue for you despite the fact that your personal circumstances are relatively stable. You have been in a relationship with your partner since 2000. He is in full employment as a concreter and you own your family home in Langwarrin. You have two children, Kayla, now aged 17 and Abby aged seven. Kayla is training to be a hairdresser and Abby attends Langwarrin Primary School. Your partner does not have a criminal history and he is not a drug user. He is aged 50 and no doubt despite issues in your relationship has provided you with much needed stability and security. The fact that you have not offended for a period of ten years with one relatively minor exception supports this finding.
16 Following your offending on this occasion the Department of Human Services became involved in Abby's management. She was in the Royal Children's Hospital recovering from her injuries and you were understandably deeply distressed by what had occurred. Fortunately, Abby has now made a full recovery. Following her discharge from hospital an Interim Accommodation Order was granted for her to reside with her father, that is your partner, for a period of three months. You were not to reside in the family home. In December 2011 you returned to the family home and DHS continued to monitor Abby's welfare. In September 2012 DHS completed its involvement in her management. Following your offending you were required to provide urine screens to DHS and undergo treatment and counselling for drug addiction. You completed this satisfactorily and DHS concluded that it was in Abby's best interests that she reside with you and her father.
17 I have received in evidence a report of Ms Hayley Russell, a senior protection officer at DHS, detailing the Department's involvement in Abby's management, which contains the following statement:
18 "It is the writer's belief that it would be detrimental to Abby's emotional wellbeing and development should Ms Edwards receive a sentence of incarceration. It is the writer's belief and observation that Ms Edwards has made considerable efforts in addressing the protective concerns and working with the Department over the last ten months. The writer is of the belief that following the accident Ms Edwards has demonstrated the ability to accept the consequences of her actions and has demonstrated an appropriate level of insight into the harm that she has caused."
19 I have also received in evidence a psychiatric report of Dr Lester Walton a consulting and forensic psychiatrist and a report of Ms Gina Cidoni, a consulting and forensic psychologist. The reports detail your personal circumstances, developmental history and psychological profile. I accept that you continue to suffer from drug addiction and require ongoing treatment for this. I also accept that you require ongoing psychological counselling and treatment. In my opinion if these supports are in place your prospects for rehabilitation are positive.
20 It is clear that general deterrence and specific deterrence are important sentencing considerations in this case and you must also be punished for your offending. To determine what the appropriate sentencing options that were available to me I directed that you be assessed for suitability for a Community Corrections Order by Corrections Victoria and I have received a report stating that you are suitable for such a disposition.
21 I have concluded that the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed may be achieved by the imposition of a Community Corrections Order. In my opinion imprisonment is not an appropriate proportionate penalty in this case and the prosecution's submission that you be released on a wholly suspended sentence would not, in my opinion, achieve the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed.
22 In the result the sentence of the court is as follows–
23 On the charge of dangerous driving causing serious injury and the two charges of criminal damage you are convicted and released on a Community Corrections Order for a period of 30 months, that is two and a half years, on the following conditions: that you not commit, whether in or outside of the State of Victoria during the period of the order, an offence punishable by imprisonment. That you comply with any requirement prescribed by the regulations. That you report to and receive visits from the Secretary or his delegate during the period of the order. That you report to the Frankston Office of Corrections on Tuesday 5 February 2013 at 10.a.m. That you notify the Secretary of any change of address or employment within two clear working days of the change. That you not leave Victoria except with the permission, either generally or in relation to a particular case, of the Secretary and that you comply with any direction given by the Secretary that is necessary for you to comply with the order.
24 On the following further special conditions, that you perform during the period of the order 60 hours of unpaid community work. That you undergo assessment and treatment for drug and alcohol dependence and that you undergo assessment and treatment for any psychological condition.
25 In relation to the charge of possession of cannabis you are convicted and fined the sum of $300.
26 In relation to the charge of criminal trespass you are convicted and discharged.
27 In relation to the charge of assaulting James Corrigan you are convicted and fined the sum of $700. I ordered a stay of one month in relation to the payment of the fines.
28 All driver's licences held by you are cancelled and you are disqualified from obtaining a driver's licence for a period of two years.
29 I have made the confiscation and forfeiture orders together with the compensation orders sought by the prosecution.
30 Is there anything further required?
31 MR THOMAS: No, Your Honour.
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