Director of Public Prosecutions v Kantaravoski, Goran
[2013] VCC 348
•25 March 2013
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT Melbourne
CRIMINAL DIVISION
Case No. CR-12-01949
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| GORAN KANTAROVSKI |
---
JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE COTTERELL | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 19 March 2013 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 25 March 2013 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Kantaravoski, Goran | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2013] VCC 348 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---
Catchwords:
---
APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Crown | Ms S. Coidan | Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr C. Yang | Paul Vale Criminal Law |
HER HONOUR:
1 Goran Kantarovski, you have pleaded guilty before me to one charge of using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 years for sexual activity, contrary to s.474.27(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for that offence is 12 years imprisonment. A summary of the Crown opening, which sets out the facts in this matter, was tendered as Exhibit A on the plea and a copy of that opening will be attached to these sentencing remarks.
2 In brief, you engaged in a number of on-line exchanges with a covert police officer who you believed to be 13 year old Anne Ronski, between 20 March and 11 April 2012. Some of the extracts of those on-line communications are extremely disturbing. This is indeed serious offending and it is clear that it normally attracts an immediate custodial sentence, given the prevalence of this activity in the community and the need for general deterrence.
3 The protection of children is the primary aim of the legislation; the protection of children from predators who are able to infiltrate all precautions taken by protective parents and have contact with children in their own homes.
4 Your personal circumstances are that you will be 26 years old on 8 April this year. You have no criminal history at all. You are in steady employment, having been employed for some two and a half years as a fees administration assistant with Europcar.
5 Tendered as Exhibit 1 on the plea were a bundle of references, including from your mother, Gorica Kantarovska, who wrote of your difficult beginnings as you were raised by her as a sole parent who had recently arrived in Australia. She found herself alone with a six-month old baby and your sister, who I understand is a couple of years older than you. She indicated the difficulties inherent in that situation and also her pride that you have completed your education, have a degree and good employment. She writes in her reference for you how remorseful and shamed you are. She also expressed that you have deep regret for your actions. She also describes the other side of your character, which is your helpfulness both to her emotionally and financially, since you worked even as you were a student and assisted that family. As a family of three, you struggled to succeed in this country and you managed to obtain your own home and pay it off, which is in no small part due to the efforts of yourself, your sister and your mother jointly.
6 There are other references; one from your girlfriend, or fiancé, and your sister, who both speak of you. They speak of your dependability, your extremely high set of values and both of them indicate that they support you fully, although it appears clear they do not understand, when they wrote the reference, exactly what had occurred. You also are endorsed completely by your friend of 12 years who knew you firstly in high school then on through your interest in soccer, which you pursued both in training, playing and administration and fund-raising, and he speaks very highly of your values and the efforts that you make on behalf of others.
7 You were also supported by a letter from your friend and co-worker, Debby Kramer, who also speaks of your assistance to her both at work and personally. I note, however, as I indicated, that none of your referees seemed to understand exactly what you have done and are certainly not aware of the content of your communications. I note that no one was here on the day when the opening was read out which involved the reading out of a number of the things that you had written in that exchange, and I take all that as being evidence of your shame and embarrassment which they know you feel, but I do not think they understand exactly why.
8 This sense of shame is further evidenced in other material tendered on your behalf. Tendered as Exhibit 2 were a psychological report authored by Patrick Newton, dated 4 March 2013 and an earlier report by him dated 15 February 2013 in relation to your attendance at the sex offender treatment program. He writes in his reports that you, when you first attended him, were shameful, anxiety-ridden and extremely pessimistic. You revealed that you had suffered depression over many years and had resorted to alcohol use and it was against that background that the offending occurred. I also understand that you underwent a great deal of difficulty at school, being harassed and bullied, which happens to so many children. It is most unfortunate and it means that years that should be very happy, are in fact extremely difficult and it appears ha added to difficulties you have faced later on.
9 Mr Newton indicates in his report that you made very good progress in a number of areas and your behaviour in his opinion came about as a result of dysfunctional attempts to manage a certain degree of sexual frustration in relation to in the context of your relationship with your girlfriend and in the context of your ongoing depression and alcohol induced disinhibition. However, your prognosis is very good, provided, he writes, that you continue to engage in some sort of treatment to address those underlying difficulties to ensure that you do not fall back into those habits.
10 I find after all that, and taking those matters into consideration, that your chances of rehabilitation are very good. I note that you have taken a lot of positive steps, both in your relationship with your girlfriend and sought to understand her and not become frustrated and angry and I understand that you have made numerous efforts to overcome those matters which you have always just kept within and have contributed to your depression and suffering.
11 I now turn to other matters that I need to take into account. Firstly, your plea of guilty. That entitles you to a substantial discount and you will receive that substantial discount for that plea indicated at an early stage. I also take into account the principle of general deterrence, that is that other in the community who may think to engage in sexual conversations with young people under the age of 16, using the Internet, will realise that they face very serious consequences if they are caught.
12 I then turn to specific deterrence. The principle of specific deterrence is that you yourself must be deterred by any punishment that I impose. I am satisfied by what I have read from Mr Patrick Newton's reports, and from your other references, that you have suffered a great deal over what has happened since you have been apprehended, not only because you have been apprehended, but because of your own shame and recognition of your own behaviour. In my view, you have probably been significantly deterred fro ever doing anything of that nature again.
13 I am then required to denounce your conduct on behalf of the community and I do so absolutely. The community will not tolerate the use of carriage services by predators seeking to corrupt children or groom them for sexual activity. This is clear by the penalties that Parliament has seen fit to impose in relation to this type of behaviour. After taking into account all of those matters, I am then required to impose just punishment in all the circumstances, that is, not only those circumstances but also that ones that relate to you personally.
14 I was also referred to the current sentencing practices in arriving at what is just punishment and clearly this type of offending would normally require an immediate custodial sentence as expressed in R v Hishnikov. I have also been assisted by submissions by counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to sentencing as we had a sentencing indication hearing before this matter proceeded. Counsel indicated that although a term of imprisonment is appropriate, your immediate release on a recognisance order is within the range that the Director of Public Prosecutions would see should be imposed.
15 Having considered all those matters, including and very particularly, the efforts that you have made towards your rehabilitation, the fact that you undertook a sexual offenders program, which indicates that you recognise the need for that and in your record of interview, as I recall, you indicated your own recognition of the need to see a psychiatrist in relation to your behaviour with someone you believed could possibly have been an underage girl. I also take into account your plea of guilty, as I indicated, and given all of those matters and balancing them all, I find that I must – the only appropriate sentence is a term of imprisonment, which will represent the seriousness of the offending. However, in your particular circumstances it is appropriate that you be released forthwith pursuant to s.20 of the Commonwealth Crimes Act, and I will place you on a recognisance order with immediate release in relation to that section and I am going to also incorporate in that order a requirement for your ongoing treatment.
16 Please stand for me Mr Kantarovski. On Charge 1, I sentence you to a term of 20 months imprisonment, but I order that you be released pursuant to Paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1914 forthwith upon your giving a security of $1000 to comply with the following conditions; that you be of good behaviour for a period of 20 months and that you be under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Community Correctional Services and Sex Offender Management or his or her nominee for that period of 20 months and that you attend for assessment and if assessed as suitable, treatment for sex offender programs or programs to reduce re-offending as directed by the Deputy Commissioner Community Correctional Services and Sex Offender Management or his or her nominee.
17 Then there are a number of other conditions; that you are to report to the Carlton Community Corrections Centre address by 4pm on 27 March 2013 and you are to report to and receive visits from a Community Corrections officer or officers; that you are to notify an officer at the specified Community Corrections Centre of any change of address or employment within two clear working days after the change; that you are not to leave Victoria except with the permission of an officer of the specified Community Corrections Centre and that you are to obey all lawful instructions and directions of Community Corrections officers. Do you understand all that?
18 PRISONER: Yes.
19 HER HONOUR: I am going to tell you what the effect is of the order. That means that you will be supervised; for the period of time, you must be of good behaviour. You will be brought back to court if you were to breach the order in any way. You could come back to court, you could then forfeit the $1000 and you may be ordered to serve a term of imprisonment, an immediate custodial sentence, that is. Just so that you understand what the consequences are if you were to fail to comply with all the conditions, you will be required to sign the order yourself to indicate that you have had the order explained to you, the purpose and effect and the consequences that may follow if you were to fail to comply with the conditions without reasonable excuse.
20 I think that completes all of that. In addition to that, as I understand it, as a result of sentencing you, you will be required to report pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act and you will be provided with some documentation in a little while, which you will be required to sign, which will inform you of your reporting obligations. The reporting period will be 8 years and has certain consequences; that is; you cannot work anywhere with children; it will not affect your employment, but I do not know whether it will affect anything to do with the soccer club – I just do not know.
21 Further, pursuant to s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act, I declare that, but for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 30 months imprisonment with nine months to serve. Thank you. You may leave the dock.
(See Crown Plea Opening attached.)
- - -
0
0
0