Director of Public Prosecutions v Guglielmino

[2014] VCC 211

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 13-02082

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

LJILIJANA GUGLIELMINO

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	5 March 2014
DATE OF SENTENCE:	5 March 2014
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Guglielmino
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2014] VCC 211

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For The Queen	Ms D. Hogan	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Offender	Mr P. Tiwana	James Dowsley & Associates

HIS HONOUR: 

1Ljilijana Guglielmino, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice contrary to common law. The maximum penalty for that offence, by operation of s.320 of the Crimes Act 1958, is 25 years imprisonment. You pleaded guilty at committal mention on 21 October 2013, and I have taken your early plea of guilty into your account in your favour in mitigation of sentence. No criminal history is alleged against you, and you therefore fall to be sentenced as a mature first offender.

2A Prosecution Opening was tendered in evidence, and your offending may be summarised as follows.

3In August 2009, your daughter made allegations regarding sexual assault, allegedly committed by your then husband Dean Toy.  He was not the father of your daughter. 

4On 12 August 2009, you and your daughter attended at the Frankston police station for the purpose of conducting a pretext telephone call with Mr Toy.  Prior to the telephone call being made, you had a conversation with Toy wherein you informed him that he was going to receive a telephone call from your daughter from the police station.

5The circumstances of this conversation are not clear, and it is also not clear what in fact you said to Toy.  It is also unclear as to what was your precise intention was at that time.  In any event, Toy became aware that the telephone call was going to take place and during it he denied any offending. 

6Approximately 16 months later you wrote a letter to Toy and subsequently that letter was located on your computer at your premises by your daughter Natarsha who was not the complainant in relation to the matter against Toy.  She obtained a copy of the letter and took it to school and it was ultimately provided to police.  The police executed a search warrant at your premises on 1 March 2013, that is 3 years after the letter was written.  And even though the police had a copy of the letter at that time, they then obtained another copy of the letter by executing a search warrant.

7You were interviewed by investigating police regarding the circumstances of you making your husband aware of the fact that the telephone call was to take place.  The interview took place almost four years after those events and police nevertheless pressed you about the detail of the conversation.  You told them that you were in effect unclear as to what you had said.

8Nevertheless a prosecution was commenced against you based upon the content of the letter which stated in part, "I lied for you and saved your arse, I told you about the phone call that you were going to get from Jess from the police station." 

9Your husband has not been charged with any offences in relation to your daughter, although I am informed by the prosecution that investigations in relation to that matter are continuing.  You have separated from him and your marriage to him is now at an end. 

10This offending occurred almost five years ago, and as I have already observed you have no prior convictions and you have not committed any offences since this offence.

11Plainly enough, attempting to pervert the course of justice may in some circumstances be a serious offence, but I am not satisfied that that description could in any way be ascribed to this offending.  It falls at the very low end of offending of this nature, and as I observed during the course of the plea hearing it is difficult to see how it was in the interests of justice for a prosecution to be commenced against you.  Nevertheless you have pleaded guilty to the charge before the court.

12I have taken the relevant sentencing principles into account in arriving at an appropriate proportion penalty in this case, and I am satisfied that there is little or no prospect of you re-offending in the future. 

13You were born on 1 November 1967, and you are now aged 46.  You have a good work history but are now in poor health.  I have received in evidence a psychological report in relation to the complex psychiatric and psychological reaction that you developed to the allegations made by your daughter against your husband and further that you have suffered a complex psychiatric reaction to being charged with this offence.

14I have also received in evidence 2 character witnesses attesting to your good character and a body of medical evidence in relation to your current poor health. 

15I am satisfied that the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed will be achieved by firstly a conviction, but being released on an adjournment for a period of 12 months conditional upon you appearing before this court if called upon to do so and being of good behaviour.

16Do you agree to entering into a bond on those conditions? 

17PRISONER:  Yes, Your Honour.

18HIS HONOUR:  The order of the court will be that in in relation to the charge of attempting to pervert the cause of justice, you will be convicted and released on an adjournment for a period of 12 months on condition that you appear before this court if called upon to do so and you are of good behaviour during that period.  Could you come forward and sign the bond please?

19Yes, you can just be seated behind your counsel.  Are there any further orders required?

20COUNSEL:  No, Your Honour.

21HIS HONOUR:  All right, thank you.  We'll adjourn now until 10.30 tomorrow.

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