Director of Public Prosecutions v Hanse

[2015] VCC 1037

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-15-00507

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

NATHAN HANSE

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	28 July 2015
DATE OF SENTENCE:	29 July 2015
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Hanse
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2015] VCC 1037

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr N. Goodfellow	O.P.P.
For the Accused	Mr G. Thexton	Thexton Lawyers

HIS HONOUR:

1Nathan Hanse, you have pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery contrary to s.75A of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years' imprisonment.

2You pleaded guilty at committal mention and I have taken your early plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.  You have no criminal history and there are no outstanding charges in your case. 

3The prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows.

4

In the early hours of 16 October 2013 you and your co-offender,

Mr Cameron Nankin, carried out two armed robberies in the vicinity of the Middle Brighton Railway Station.  On each occasion your co-offender,

Mr Nankin, produced a knife to persons who had alighted from trains at the railway station and demanded goods from them.

5On the first occasion the armed robbery was carried out on Ms Cara Baldwin.  Her bag was demanded from her and its contents stolen, including a Toshiba laptop computer, USB memory stick, keys, her sketchbook, library book, arts supplies and various other personal items.  The total value of the items was $1500.  They were not recovered.  I have received in evidence a Victim Impact Statement of Ms Baldwin detailing the effect of your offending upon her, and in particular, the significant loss by her of her artwork and records of four years of study.  Your offending had a significantly traumatic effect upon her.

6The second armed robbery was carried out on Ms Simone McIntosh.  She was also required to hand over her bag, which contained her purse, bankcards and various other items, including a sum of cash.  The total value of the items stolen in her case was $150. 

7Your offending was reported to police and at approximately 1.30 am the vehicle that you and your co-offender were travelling in was intercepted by police.  Upon your arrest by police you made full admissions to questions asked of you by police.

8Whilst you were not the principal offender who carried out the armed robberies it is clear that you entered an agreement with your co-offender to commit the offences, and your moral culpability, in my opinion, is commensurate with his.

9Offending of this type is prevalent and the sentence that I impose must be calculated to deter you and others from offending in this way.  Persons are entitled to go about their business, even if it is in the early hours of the morning, without the threat of offending of this nature being committed against them.

10You were not charged until February 2015, and the explanation for the delay in you being charged lies at the feet of the police.  I was told by the Prosecutor that the delay was simply a product of an administrative oversight and the Informant going on leave.  This, of course, is quite unsatisfactory, however, it is significant that during the period of the delay you did not re-offend, and, as I have already observed, you have no prior convictions.

11

I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You were born on

1 September 1992 and are now aged 22.  You were 21 at the time of your offending.  You have a stable family background.  Your parents migrated to Australia from the United Kingdom and India, and both have held steady employment.  You completed your VCE at Bacchus Marsh Grammar School and enrolled in a business degree following that.  You have either been involved in studies or employment since leaving school.  It would appear, however, that your personal circumstances deteriorated around the time of your offending, resulting in you attending at Crown Casino and there meeting your co-accused, who you also began to use illegal drugs of dependence with at this time.

12I have received in evidence a psychological report of a Dr Michael King detailing your psychological profile development and the conclusions he reached in assessments conducted upon you in 2013 and 2015.  I accept that at the time of your offending you were suffering from a depressive condition together with polysubstance abuse disorder, and I further accept that it would appear that both of these conditions have since stabilised.

13Nevertheless, in my opinion, by reason of the development of polysubstance abuse disorder and depression in you, it is appropriate for you to receive ongoing counselling and support in relation to these issues.  Furthermore, it would appear that you have returned to your studies and you are now in a stable relationship.  In all the circumstances I accept that your prospects for rehabilitation may properly be described as good.

14Your co-offender, Mr Nankin, was dealt with by the Melbourne Children's Court on 2 April 2014, wherein he was released without conviction on an adjourned bond for a period of 12 months.  Whilst it may properly be said that your and his offending on this occasion in these two instances, may properly be described as serious, it is clear that in respect of your co-offender his youth was the prominent sentencing consideration taken into account by the court.

15Likewise in your case, it would appear, as I have already observed, that your prospects for rehabilitation are good.  Accordingly I had you assessed for suitability for release on a Community Corrections Order, and the report prepared by Corrections Victoria reveals that you are suitable for such a disposition. 

16In my opinion the purposes for which this sentence is to be imposed will be achieved by the imposition of such an order, and I note that you have indicated that you agree to being the subject of such a sentencing disposition.

17Accordingly, the sentence of the court is as follows -

18In relation to the two charges of armed robbery you are convicted and sentenced to a Community Corrections Order for a period of 18 months on the usual core conditions, and in particular, you must report to the Werribee Community Correctional Services Centre within two clear working days of the commencement of this order.  I further order that you be the subject of the following special conditions:

·Firstly; that you be under the supervision of a Community Corrections officer for a period of 18 months;

·Further; that you undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse or dependency, as directed;

·That you undergo assessment and treatment for alcohol abuse or dependency as directed;

·Finally; that you participate in programs and/or courses that address factors relating to offending.

19I have decided not to impose a condition that you perform unpaid community work because in my opinion your rehabilitation will be facilitated by you continuing your university studies and engaging with Corrections in relation to drug and alcohol abuse.  Do you agree to entering into an order on those conditions?

20OFFENDER:  Yes, I do, Your Honour.

21HIS HONOUR:  Yes, thank you.  I'll just sign that order now and you can come forward and sign it.  I have made the ancillary orders sought on behalf of the prosecution.

22MR THEXTON:  As Your Honour pleases.

23HIS HONOUR:  It's not necessary to make a s.6AAA declaration in circumstances where he's released on a CCO, is it?

24MR BAARLINK:  No, Your Honour.

25HIS HONOUR:  Yes, thank you.  Yes, I've made the ancillary orders sought.  Mr Thexton, I have made a non-custodial s.464ZF order in your client's case.

26MR THEXTON:  Yes.

27HIS HONOUR:  He's required to report to the officer in charge of the Wyndham North Police Station within 28 days of the making of this order to provide a forensic sample.  And Mr Hanse, I am required to explain to you that the police can use reasonable force in order to obtain that sample; which will just be a scraping from your mouth, and so obviously it is in your best interests to co-operate with them in the taking of that sample.  All right, thank you.

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