Director of Public Prosecutions v Lade (a pseudonym)

[2017] VCC 721

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

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JACKSON LADE (a pseudonym)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:	6 June 2017
DATE OF SENTENCE:	6 June 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Lade (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 721

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 K. Doyle
For the Accused	Mr R. Davis

Pages 1 - 5

 

 

HIS HONOUR: 

1Jackson Lade[1], you have pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault, two charges of stalking, one charge of attempt to pervert the course of justice, one charge of contravention of an order intending to cause fear or harm and one charge of making threats to kill.  You also pleaded guilty to an uplifted charge of threatening to distribute intimate photographs.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of ten years, ten years, 25 years, five years, ten years and one year respectively.

[1] A pseudonym.

2You pleaded guilty to a settled indictment and you offered to plead guilty at a reasonably early opportunity.  I understand from the Bar table that indeed before you were extradited from New South Wales, you gave sworn evidence admitting your offending.  You are now 47 years of age.  I accept in the circumstances there is now appropriate remorse.  You must also of course get the utilitarian benefit of that plea of guilty.

3Of real importance in your particular situation is that you have no prior convictions and technically speaking at least, no subsequent matters.

4There is a very detailed summary of Crown opening of the offending.  I simply direct that that remain on the court file and that it be, if need be, annexed to these my sentencing remarks.  In brief, what occurred was that you formed a relationship with a lady.  You were 45 years of age at the time of the conclusion and she was around about 30.  You have two children together and as I understand it, are making attempts to reinstate your relationship with them.

5In any event, the two of you began to build and proposed to live in a house.  During the course of that process, you lost your job.  You commenced to use drugs and became, on the material before me, either withdrawn or angry.  It is not an uncommon consequence of the use of methamphetamine.  In any event, during that period of time, the marriage broke down and your wife went to live with her parents.  She was bringing the children over to see you on a regular basis. 

6On one particular occasion, you asked her to come and help with the painting and I have no reason to think that what followed was premeditated.  She painted upstairs and after she had finished doing that, you complimented her on the painting, grabbed her, pressed your body up against her and grabbed her between her legs.  She was wearing leggings over her underwear, which you apparently were able to remove.  You had your hand against her vagina, pushed her backwards onto the bed in the main bedroom.  She tried to push you off and it was clear on the material that she was not consenting to what occurred.

7You held her down on the bed, partly removed her underwear, exposing her vagina.  You were wearing shorts with no underwear and took your penis out which you placed against her vagina.  She said that she was saying, "no, no, I don't want to."  You said to her, "You're my wife, Catherine, do you understand that?"  You ejaculated on her, though I sentence on the basis that there was no penetration.  She was crying and was clearly upset.  You told her if she stopped crying you would let her go.  At around that point in time, her mother rang and said that your son was awake, that she had to go.  You then asked her if she understood that you had to do it and in any event, she left.  That gives rise to Charge 1 of sexual assault.  She washed her face so that her parents would not know she had been crying.

8What occurred after were a series of events whereby you threatened to distribute intimate images of her which you had obtained off the internet and you were on frequent occasions attending her house.  There had been an agreement that she remained in the home and that you were to reside elsewhere.  You were sending her messages indicating that you were violating her space and were doing so on a regular basis.  Videos were left that and she was then able to watch.  She became very concerned about all this and this behaviour continued over an extended period of time.  That gives rise to the charges of stalking.

9You, on occasion, demanded or asked that she drop the charges against you or you would kill yourself.  That gives rise to attempt to pervert the course of justice, which in this particular situation I regard as being at the lower end.

10In any event, you were interviewed in New South Wales, arrested and extradited to Victoria.  You are being held in custody.  There was an intervention order still in place in regard to it and you, from custody, were sending angry and revengeful threats towards her.  You made further threats to distribute intimate images of her and asked a sister to send a text to her as well.  That behaviour over a period of time contravened the family violence final intervention order which had been granted in March 2016.  She was genuinely afraid of the threats to kill.

11That gives rise to all the offending which has to be regarded as serious.  It calls for the application of general and specific deterrence as well as denunciation and appropriate punishment.  You have now been in custody for a period of
12 months.  It is the first time you have been in custody and for somebody with no prior convictions, I have no doubt that it has been a salutary lesson for you.

12I have examined the psychological material that has been presented on your behalf.  You clearly up until the time of this offending have been a relatively good citizen.  You have a good record and it is unfortunate that your life fell apart in such dramatic circumstances.  You now no longer use drugs.  The urine testing from the gaol would tend to support that.

13Of importance in your circumstances are that you have not done what is so common, that is sit in a cell and sulk.  You have done a number of courses, all of which is very much to your credit.  You have shown that you used the time in gaol well and that all goes well for your future rehabilitation. 
That rehabilitation is in your hands.  The risk of your reoffending certainly on a sexual level I regard and is incorporated within the materials as being low. 
You are intending to go and live with a Mr Lawson who has provided a reference on your behalf out of the state and as your counsel simply pointed out, that geographical relocation will be of real significance in this matter.

14I accept in these circumstances that you regard now at least the relationship as over.  I regard the offending as situational in the sense that it was based within a relationship, not that that condones it in any way, shape or form.  I think that an active custodial sentence is inevitable in this situation.  I have had a very frank discussion with your counsel about that.  Because of your intention to go to New South Wales, it seems to me that I impose a sentence that does not have a parole period or a community corrections order attached to it.  It is the sensible way of going about it.

15I have taken into account all of the materials on your behalf.  There is no application of the Verdins principles.  It simply becomes a question of what offending of this nature in a domestic violence situation and a male dominant situation is worth.

16Taking all those matters into account, particularly the fact that you will now be relocated to another state and that you have no priors and present a low risk of reoffending, I am of the view that a straight sentence is the appropriate disposition. 

17Accordingly, on the charges on the indictment, you are sentenced to be imprisoned for an aggregate period of 16 months.  On the summary offence, seven days, which is to be served concurrently with the aggregate offence.  That gives an overall effective head sentence of 16 months.  For the reasons I have outlined, I do not propose to give a non-parole period.  That would cause you more difficulties than what it was worth.

18I direct that 365 days be reckoned has having been served under this sentence and I say that but for your plea of guilty, you would have been sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of two years.

19MR DOYLE:  Forensic sample.

20HIS HONOUR: Sorry, yes. Pursuant to s.464ZF of the Crimes Act, I make an order that you provide a forensic sample for DNA purposes.  That order having been made, I must advise you that should you refuse to provide a same, police may use reasonable force to take it from you.  It will be saliva only.  That order is made and handed down.

21MR DOYLE:  As Your Honour pleases.

22HIS HONOUR:  Any other orders I need to make, gentlemen?

23MR DOYLE:  No, Your Honour.

24MR DAVIS:  No, Your Honour.

25HIS HONOUR:  No.  All right, thanks for that.

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