Director of Public Prosecutions v Goodwin (a pseudonym)
[2024] VCC 950
•21 June 2024
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| ROBERT GOODWIN (A PSEUDONYM) |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE HARPER |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
DATE OF HEARING: | 21 June 2024 |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 21 June 2024 |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Goodwin (a pseudonym) |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 950 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Sexual assault of a child under 16; involving a child in the production of child abuse material, possess child abuse material
Legislation Cited: Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004, Sentencing Act 1991
Cases Cited:
Sentence: CCO with conviction, 3 years, 250 hours, treatment and rehabilitation, programs to reduce reoffending
:
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Ms A. Patterson | Ms A. Hogan, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
For the Accused | Mr D. McGlone | VLA Bendigo |
HER HONOUR:
1Robert Goodwin[1], you have pleaded guilty before me to two charges of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16, one charge of involving a child in the production of child abuse material, one charge of attempting to involve a child in the production of child abuse material, and one charge of possession of child abuse material.
[1] A pseudonym.
2The maximum penalty for each of Charges 1 and 2, sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 is 10 years' imprisonment. The maximum penalty for Charge 3, involving a child in the production of child abuse material is
10 years' imprisonment. For Charge 4, attempt to involve a child in the production of child abuse material the maximum is five years. And for Charge 5, possess child abuse material it is 10 years' imprisonment.3Charges 1 and 2 are standard sentence offences, which I will return to shortly.
Circumstances
4The circumstances of your offending were outlined in the summary of prosecution opening for plea hearing. I will summarise them here.
5In July 2018 you met the complainant, Jessica White[2], at a local football game in the regional Victorian town in which you live. You were then aged 24.
[2] A pseudonym.
6Later that night you added Ms White on Snapchat. The two of you engaged in conversations and exchanged pictures over the following two to three months. During that period, you told Ms White you were 25 to which she responded that she was 14 turning 15.
7On 12 October 2018, Ms White attended a friend's sixteenth birthday party. You contacted her and invited her to your house. She walked there and you met her out the front of your house before inviting her into your bedroom.
8You lay on the bed and invited her to join you, which she did. While lying on the bed together you and Ms White kissed and you rubbed your hand on her upper thigh, over her clothing. You then undid her jeans and moved your hand inside her underwear, rubbing her vagina, which is the basis of Charge 1, sexual assault of a child under 16.
9Ms White touched your penis over your clothing briefly, which is the basis of Charge 2, sexual assault of a child under 16. She fell asleep and remained at your house overnight, returning to her friend's house the next morning.
10Between July and December 2018, you sent naked images of yourself to
Ms White and asked her to send you pictures of herself, writing 'Oh come on baby, just send them to me' and 'send me some pictures of your boobs baby'. Ms White complied by sending two images of herself naked from the waist up over Snapchat. She then received a notification that you had taken screenshots of the images and saved them. This forms the basis of Charge 3, involving a child in the production of child abuse material.11On 27 April 2019, you and Ms White were sending each other messages when you wrote 'if I get in trouble for this I am going to link your nudes to all the girls at [school]'. You then said 'if you send me an ass pic bent over I will delete the photos'. This forms the basis of Charge 4, attempt to involve a child in the production of child abuse material.
12Ms White replied that she would send the image in the morning, to stop you distributing the pictures she had already sent.
13On 28 August 2019, Ms White was at school and received a text message from you saying 'I didn't get the pic'. She told you she was busy.
14You then sent a number of messages saying:
a)'You know what happens if you don't'
b)'Now do as you're told'
c)'Let me fuck you and you can delete them'
d)'Just do as you're told'
e)'Big school lots of people'.
15Ms White was upset by your threats and disclosed to school staff that she had previously sent naked photos to you and you were now threatening to distribute them. She then made some disclosures to her father and police.
16On 10 July 2020, police executed a search warrant at your home and seized your iPhone. Police analysed the phone and located an image of Ms White wearing a pink dressing gown around her waist, with her breasts and genital area visible. This forms Charge 5, possession of child abuse material.
17You were arrested on 2 December 2020 and participated in a record of interview during which you told police:
a)You met the complainant three years earlier at a football game;
b)You kept in touch via Snapchat;
c)The complainant went to your house a few months after you first met;
d)You assumed she was 16 because that is how old her friends were;
e)You kissed but that is all you could recall;
f)She sent you two pictures of her boobs and you saved them. You denied asking for the photographs; and
g)You could not remember threatening to send the photographs to others.
Offence gravity
18You were aware that the complainant was 14 years of age when the contact offending took place. You were 24-25 years of age and the age discrepancy was not only spelt out, but should have been obvious to you. There is no excuse for your behaviour however, I find it falls at the lower end of contact offending of this type.
19In relation to the child abuse material images, I consider the well-established list of factors to be taken into account including:
i.The nature and content of the material;
ii.The number of items or images possessed;
iii.Whether the material is for the purpose of sale or further distribution;
iv.Whether an offender will profit from the offence;
v.The number of children depicted and thereby victimised; and
vi.The length of time for which the pornographic material was possessed.
20There were two images in issue here relating to one victim. The material was not for sale, profit or further distribution however your victim was clearly traumatised by you requesting and keeping the images, and particularly by your threatening to distribute those images.
21Given the single child victim and the low number of images, I consider your offending to fall at the lower end of offences of this type.
Plea of guilty
22Your pleas of guilty come after the complainant gave evidence at committal and after a sentence indication before me but must be seen in light of the most significant charges not proceeding.
23Your plea has utilitarian benefit. You have saved the court and the community the time and expense of running a trial and spared the victim the ordeal of giving evidence again. In those circumstances you have facilitated the administration of justice, and you are entitled to a benefit for that.
24While your plea is an acceptance of responsibility for your offending, when assessed by psychologist, Austin Campbell, you continued to deny knowledge of the complainant's age. I therefore cannot place a great deal of weight on remorse.
Victim Impact Statement
25Ms White provided a victim impact statement to the court. She no longer visits relatives in the region or town where this offending occurred, she is fearful and hypervigilant and worries about running into you. She now suffers from depression and anxiety.
Personal circumstances
26I turn now to your personal circumstances.
27You are now 30 years of age, having been born in November 1933.
28You have an older brother and four younger paternal half-siblings from two relationships. Your parents separated when you were an infant and you have not had any contact with your mother since you were aged about three.
29You were raised in a regional Victorian town by your father and stepmother, the mother of your two youngest half-siblings. You had a difficult childhood under their care and were treated differently from your stepmother's biological children.
30You were required to return home from school and go to bed shortly after dinner each night, there were no extra-curricular activities. Disobedience resulted in severe physical punishment from your father, at your stepmother's behest.
31This continued until you were about 16 years old, when you started playing football. Being a regional town, the local football and netball club is the centre of the town's social activities. Your stepmother disapproved of your participation in sport, which resulted in a significant family conflict. You were then removed from the family home and lived with another family for two years, before moving into shared accommodation with friends.
32You completed your secondary education but were subjected to bullying throughout your school years and experienced social isolation because of parental restrictions on participation in extra-curricular activities.
33Following the completion of your secondary education, you spent a lot of time playing video games and sports, which you had not been able to engage with whilst living at home. You feel you wasted some 10 years trying to catch up on a lost childhood.
34You completed over two years of a joinery apprenticeship but were unable to resolve differences with your employer.
35You have not had any contact with the majority of your family for over four years, and have no desire to reconnect with your father, who it seems has attempted to do so.
36You have found a role model and mentor in Mr Patrick Moss[3], who gave evidence before me.
[3] A pseudonym.
37Mr Moss if a football manager and plays 8 Ball in addition to his paid employment. He has known you for some time but only on a close level for the last two years.
38Mr Moss described you as closed, obnoxious and rude when he met you, but after getting to know you, considers that you are a damaged individual who has benefited from having him as your first adult role model. He feels you are finally open to accepting help.
39You are on welfare payments but also work in a labouring role with Mr Moss.
40I received a report from psychologist Austin Campbell. He reports that:
Due to Mr Goodwin's experiences throughout his childhood, he appears to have developed an overall avoidant coping style where he learnt to avoid the acknowledgement or expression of experiences of distress. This appears to have predisposed him to the development of maladaptive coping strategies for managing distress later in life.
41Mr Campbell further opines that:
Mr Goodwin's mental health issues i.e., symptoms of depression and issues controlling anger, appear to be perpetuated by his insecure attachment style, lack of adaptive coping strategies, and lack of engagement in meaningful activities. Mr Goodwin's insecure attachment style appears to impact his ability to develop and maintain healthy and meaningful relationships with positive individuals. This appears to result in social isolation and ongoing symptoms of depression.
Sentencing principles and factors
42Mr Goodwin, this was appalling offending. You, as a 24-25 year old man, should have acted with maturity and good conscience, but instead you committed contact offending against a 14-year-old child. You requested nude pictures, you kept those pictures for an extended time, and most concerningly you threatened to distribute them to other people. This is a particularly nasty aspect of your offending, of which you should feel great shame.
43You have no criminal history however, in light of your reluctance to accept your offending beyond a guilty plea, I consider specific deterrence to be a live issue. You must be deterred from engaging in such conduct in future.
44Despite your reluctance to take clear responsibility for your offending, you appear willing to engage with mental health supports and should you do so, I find your prospects of rehabilitation are good.
45I do not find that the principles in Bugmy are engaged however, I take the circumstances of your upbringing and the nature of your relationships with your mother, father and stepmother into account in a general sense, and I moderate the sentence accordingly.
46Similarly, the principles in Verdins[4] are not engaged on the materials before me.
[4] [2007] VSCA 102
47General deterrence remains a paramount consideration. Others in the community must be deterred from committing such vile offences against child victims as you have done, knowing that they will face significant punishment should they choose to do so.
48I note that both Charges 1 and 2, sexual assault of a child under 16, are standard sentence offences, with a standard sentence of four years' imprisonment in each case. The standard sentence for an offence is a sentence that, taking into account only the objective factors affecting the relative seriousness of that offence, is in the middle range of seriousness. I must take the standard sentence into account as one of the factors relevant to sentencing. This requirement is to be treated as a legislative guidepost, having the same function as the maximum penalty. It does not affect the established instinctive synthesis to sentencing or require or permit two-stage sentencing.
49The court must only have regard to sentences imposed in cases where the standard sentence regime applies.
50I have taken the standard sentence for sexual assault of a child under 16 into account as one of the factors to consider in my instinctive synthesis of all the relevant factors in your case. I consider your offending to fall well below the mid-range of seriousness and thus will impose a sentence well below that standard.
51I had you assessed for a community corrections order. You were assessed as being a medium risk of reoffending. You told the assessors you are not working, because you are 'too lazy to work'. You went on to minimise the child abuse material offending.
52You were also assessed by the Mental Health Advice and Response Service and their report found you to have appropriate insight and judgment into your current mental health.
53Despite the concerns raised in the assessment, I am nevertheless prepared to release you on a community corrections order to provide you with a chance for rehabilitation. Would you please stand.
Disposition
54On Charges 1 to 5, you are convicted and sentenced to be released on a community corrections order for a period of three years with the following conditions.
a)You are to report to [location omitted] Community Corrections Office within two working days of today.
b)You are to comply with all core conditions.
c)You are to undergo supervision.
d)You are to perform 250 hours of unpaid community work, 50 hours of which may be credited to programs.
e)You are to undergo assessment and treatment as directed for your mental health.
f)You are to participate in programs to reduce reoffending, namely a sex offender's treatment program.
55Do you consent to be released on a community corrections order?
56OFFENDER: Yes.
57HER HONOUR: I will have you sign that paperwork in a moment. Having not sentenced you to imprisonment, the serious offender provisions do not apply.
58For the purposes of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 Charges 1 and 2 are to be treated as a single class 2 offence. The other three offences are also class 2, meaning you are a registerable offender for life.
59Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, had you not pleaded guilty the sentence I would have imposed would have been a total effective sentence of 18 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 months.
60I grant the forfeiture order sought by the prosecution.
61MR McGLONE: Your Honour, just because my client is dependent on public transport [location omitted] is easier, would be the more convenient office.
62HER HONOUR: Are we able to change that? Yes. All right, I will make it [location omitted].
63MR McGLONE: Thank you, Your Honour.
64HER HONOUR: You are to report to [location omitted] within two working days of today. We will have that paperwork prepared.
65You will be provided with the community corrections order paperwork and the sex offender's acknowledgement. I will have Mr McGlone attend the dock in a moment and assist you with those documents. Thank you, Mr McGlone.
66Is there anything else from either party? Mr McGlone?
67MR McGLONE: Not from the defence, Your Honour.
68HER HONOUR: Ms Patterson?
69MS PATTERSON: No, Your Honour.
70HER HONOUR: Thank you. If you would wait in court, we will have copies of those documents provided to you and your counsel.
71MR McGLONE: I believe you still need to sign the SORA, Your Honour. The last page.
72HER HONOUR: I signed the front page.
73MR McGLONE: You signed the front page, which is correct, but I think the last page, the SORA.
74HER HONOUR: I will sign that now.
75MR McGLONE: I can sign it; it was before me.
76HER HONOUR: No, my associate signs that - - -
77MR McGLONE: Thank you, Your Honour, I think that might be better.
78HER HONOUR: - - - and then I will sign the last page. Thank you. I thank both counsel for their assistance, and thank you again for appearing whilst ill, Ms Patterson, I appreciate your duty to the court today. We will adjourn the court.
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