Director of Public Prosecutions v Jackson (a pseudonym)

[2016] VCC 9

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 15-01686

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

RODNEY JACKSON (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	21 January 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Jackson (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 9

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr N. Hutton
For the Accused	Ms M. O'Brien

HER HONOUR:

1Rodney Jackson[1], you have pleaded guilty before me to:  one charge of gross indecency with a girl under 16; one charge of indecent assault of a girl under 16 and; one charge of carnal knowledge of a girl between ten to 16.

[1] A pseudonym

2The offending relates to sexual intercourse and sexual contact which you had when you were age 25 with your then 15 and a half year old sister-in-law.  The offending occurred between 23 July and 31 August 1977.  The facts underlying the offending are that at that time you were a serving member of the Victoria Police whilst the victim was living with her parents.

3On the first occasion you travelled to pick up your sister-in-law to come and stay with you.  A conversation occurred between the two of you which turned to the subject of sex.  It would appear that the conversation arose in the aftermath of an argument that the victim had had with her then boyfriend.  You told police that you bragged that you could give the victim an orgasm with oral sex.

4As a result of the discussion the two of you drove back to the house and went into the lounge room where there was kissing and touching before the two of you removed their lower clothing.  The complainant performed oral sex on you for a short period, which underlies Charge 1 on the indictment, gross indecency. You then performed oral sex on her, which actions underlie indecent assault of a girl under 16.

5The two of you then had penile/vaginal sexual intercourse which underlies part of the facts and circumstances in relation to Charge 3, which is a representative charge.  No condom was used as you had had a vasectomy two years previously.

6The second occasion, which is part of representative Charge 3, occurred at your home where the complainant had been dropped off to stay for a week.  Your wife and children had gone to bed but the two of you were up, watching TV, the victim planning to sleep on a mattress on the floor of the dining room.  Again the subject of sex arose between the two of you.  You spoke about the previous occasion and subsequently had penile/vaginal sex again on the floor.  It was apparently fairly quick due to the presence of your wife and children in another room in the house.

7I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You are now 63 years of age and apart from the matters before this court there have been no previous or subsequent criminal offending.

8You are the eldest of four children born to your parents.  You left school after Year 10, undertaking an apprentice as an automotive mechanic with the Country Roads Board, which you completed.  You stayed with that organisation for ten years.  In 1974 you joined the Victoria Police force.  You married your wife, to whom you are still married, when you were 19, and there are two children of that relationship.

9Industrial unrest in the 1970s led to you to feel insecure in your employment and it was on that basis that you joined the police force.  You worked both in the city and as a country police officer, eventually rising to the rank of senior constable.  Your counsel informed, me, and I accept this as the situation, that the police culture at that time was what could be described as a very masculine one, involving a great deal of socialising and drinking, and it was also submitted to me that the sort of power and culture that went with the police environment at the time somewhat went to your head and, indeed, it would appear that it was in that context that the sexual contact that you had with your young sister-in-law occurred.

10You remained in the police force until 1988.  During that time, as is often the case with those serving within the Victoria Police Force, you encountered a number of traumatic experiences as part of your work, primarily in your work with the Accident Investigation Unit with which you were posted for about three and a half years.  You were also traumatised by an incident at Alexandra where in fact you had moved with your wife in the hope that a change in the country would alleviate your drinking and the subsequent strains that this was bringing to your marriage.  However, you were called to an accident scene where a police colleague was found drowning in a ditch as a result of a hit and run.  You were able to save your colleague but believe that that traumatic experience in fact worsened the problems that you were already encountering as a serving police officer.

11Notwithstanding that you and your wife have been married for more than four decades it was frankly conceded by your counsel that they were not without incident or without difficulty.  You admit freely that there were two extramarital affairs in the time that you were in the police force but it appears you have been frank about those with your wife and it is several decades since the last of those second affairs.

12You went on to work as a truck driver, which you ceased doing after some years when you had a serious accident.  You and your wife then ran a motel in Maffra, returning to Melbourne on the birth of a grandchild.  For about six years you ran a motel apartment set-up as part of a franchise in Werribee, which ended unhappily after a dispute with the franchise owner, resulting in significant financial loss for you both.

13You now work with an organisation called Toll Transports.  You have worked there for several years and your wife works in the area of palliative care, an occupation that she qualified in many years ago.  You live in rented premises, no doubt as a result of the financial reverses that you suffered after the Werribee franchise that you held.  You live simply but I am satisfied first that you have a very good work history, and secondly, I am satisfied you are a person who has been, as is your wife, very conscious of putting back into the community.  The pair of you are members of a local Uniting Church and each of you are heavily involved in the sort of social welfare activities that the Uniting Church is indeed renowned for.

14I received a raft of references from friends who know you within that capacity, who have been friends of yours or have been employers, and they all speak highly of you both as a person with a strong work ethic and a person with a strong sense of community obligation.

15In 1997 your sister-in-law wrote to her sister, your wife, revealing the sexual encounter between the two of you.  You were open with your wife and admitted what you had done.  The complainant did not choose to take the matter to police until 2014.  At that time she conducted a pretext telephone conversation where again you freely admitted what you had done.  You attended on police by appointment and conducted what I regard as a very frank and open record of interview and it is conceded by the prosecution that without those admissions it may have been difficult to prosecute you for the matters to which you have ultimately pleaded guilty had you entered a plea of not guilty.  The plea of guilty was entered at the earliest possible stage.

16Whilst I have probably spoken about you, Mr Jackson, in fairly praiseworthy terms, you do need to understand that you did indeed cause a great deal of damage in what you did to your sister-in-law.  The sorts of reactions referred to by the complainant in this matter have been lifelong and are, indeed, common experiences of those who have been sexually exploited when they are too young.  As a result of your offending against her the complainant developed a self-loathing which led her into destructive behaviour over a period of years.  She's had unhappy relationships, she has developed drug and alcohol addictions.  She had hoped to continue a career in ballroom dancing, which she quite promptly abandoned, and really, the way it is probably best summarised by her is when she stated in her victim impact statement that she made really bad decisions in her life which were "based on hatred towards myself", all of this arising from the fact that you and she had sexual intercourse.

17Clearly your actions have also put a wedge between your wife and her sister and that is particularly regrettable given that you formed a very close relationship with your wife's family.  Your parents-in-law clearly are extremely important to you, perhaps providing some of the love that you told psychologist, Patrick Newton, you felt you missed out on growing up in a family where your parents were distant towards each other and fairly distant to their children, so that that is a double betrayal, if you like.

18It may well be that there have been ongoing difficulties between your wife and her sister whereby your sister could perhaps be seen, or has been seen by you as a troubled person who is unreasonable, but the fact of the matter is that sexually exploited teenagers who then go on to develop the deep self-confidence difficulties that the complainant in this matter clearly has, do develop into people who find it very difficult to make proper decisions or reasoned decisions, and can behave in a very self-destructive manner that can go on for decades, as appears to have been the case with the complainant.

19Fortunately, she appears to be receiving appropriate counselling but, as I have said, what she described in her victim impact statement is all too sadly familiar to this court, that she has conducted her life with a sense of deep self-loathing, leading directly to years of destructive behaviour, and the seriousness of your offending in that respect cannot be underestimated.

20As I have said, the prosecution have conceded that without your cooperation these charges may not have been able to be successfully prosecuted.  Unfortunately, it is also the experience of these courts that those who abuse children very rarely admit to what they have done.  It is very much to your credit that you have been as open as you have been in admitting your guilty actions towards your sister-in-law.  You are entitled to a very significant discount in that regard.  As a result of your honesty in these matters the prosecution have been prepared to concede, given also the age of this matter, and your subsequent law abiding behaviour, that a non-custodial disposition, in particular, a community corrections order, is appropriate in your case, and I agree that this is an appropriate way to proceed.

21I am comforted in that decision by the psychological reports I received both from Mr Newton and from your treating psychologist, Dr Barth.  The assessment is the eminently sensible conclusion, in my view, is that you do not present a risk to the community in terms of a likely repeat of this sort of behaviour.  You impress as a prosocial and otherwise, I think the way that Mr Newton described, as a completely normal man who does regret the behaviour that he engaged in all those years ago, has been open in admitting that behaviour, has never repeated it and I accept that you are truly remorseful for it.

22In those circumstances, I am prepared to place you on a community corrections order.  I can only do this with your consent, sir, so I need to explain to you the conditions that attach to this order.  They are these.  Whilst you are on the order, you must not commit another offence punishable by imprisonment.  You may not leave Victoria without the permission of the Community Corrections Office.  You must report to the Community Corrections Office within two working days of being placed on this order, that is by Monday.  You must inform the Community Corrections Office of any change of address or employment within 48 hours.  You must attend upon and receive visits from the Community Corrections Office as directed and you must obey all lawful directions of the Community Corrections Office.

23You have been found suitable for placement on the order.  The special conditions are that you undertake 150 hours of unpaid community work.  That you attend for assessment and treatment for mental health difficulties.  Whilst you have used a treating psychologist in order probably to deal with the aftermath of some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder during your years in the Victorian Police Force, you have also used it to assist you in coming to terms with an understanding of the offending that you carried out against your sister-in-law, and it also appears you have developed a major depressive disorder in response to being charged with these matters and in the anticipation with what might happen in these court proceedings.  It therefore seems appropriate that you continue that sort of treatment.  Are you prepared to enter the order?

24OFFENDER:  Yes, I am, Your Honour.

25HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  The order will last for a period of two years.

26MS O'BRIEN:  Your Honour, in relation to the 464ZF.

27HER HONOUR:  I am not going to grant that application.  I do not think it is appropriate.  I do not think there is a need for him to provide a sample for a DNA database in the circumstances.

28MS O'BRIEN:  Yes.

29HER HONOUR:  I will return the references to you.  Thank you very much.  I should indicate that I was very much assisted by the extremely thorough and thoughtful plea conducted by your counsel.

30OFFENDER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

31HER HONOUR:  You are also, as a result of the offending, to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.  This is a mandatory requirement and your counsel will explain the conditions of that to you.  I will get you to sign that as well.  Thank you.  We will just get you to sign this.

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