Director of Public Prosecutions v Majok

[2023] VCC 176

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-21-02297

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MAJOK MAJOK

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	30 January 2023 and 14 February 2023
DATE OF SENTENCE:	14 February 2023
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Majok
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VCC 176

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:Plea – sentencing

Catchwords:            Robbery - prohibited person possess imitation firearm

Legislation Cited:    

Cases Cited:

Sentence:2 years and 6 months' imprisonment, 20 months non-parole period

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr C. Thomson	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr L. Barker	SLKQ Lawyers

HIS HONOUR: 

1Majok Majok, the summary of prosecution opening has just been read, so I do not need to repeat it.  Suffice to say that your crime involved an opportunistic robbery on 19 March 2021 which put in fear the occupants of the vehicle that was being driven and occupied by your two victims. 

2You were responsible for backing up the actions of others who had initiated the armed robbery upon your victims by approaching the vehicle and showing your victims an imitation firearm.  That clearly would have put them in fear.  They were already in fear as a result of the conduct of your co-offenders.  You are responsible as a joint participant in the armed robbery which was already underway when you joined in. 

3You were the driver of the vehicle and were responsible for blocking the exit of the vehicle occupied by the victims, as well as taking part in the way I have already indicated.

4It is a serious offence and you need to be punished for it.  I think you are well aware of that.  You have previous convictions for offences of a not too-dissimilar character.  A number of them are relevant to this sentencing exercise.

5The victim impact statement, which I will mark for the purposes of this proceeding as Exhibit B, is taken as read in these proceedings. 

6Turning to matters personal to you, I received very helpful submissions from your counsel which set out the essentials of the mitigating factors that are relied upon.  There are a number of them.  They are well-supported by the comprehensive report from Carla Lechner, psychologist, dated 29 December 2022 wherein she sets out a good deal about your background: coming from Egypt, the son of displaced migrants to Australia from South Sudan.  You arrived in Australia at the age of two. 

7Your parents split up 10 years or so ago.  You have a stepfather.  It seems you have a good relationship with him, just as you do with your mother and your siblings. 

8Your introduction to Australia has not been an entirely happy one for you.  You did not do well at school and got into a bit of trouble whilst you were at school.  Since then your employment history has been patchy to say the least. 

9However, you have spent a good deal of time in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the conditions in custody are notoriously more severe than usual. 

10I note that you have spent 10 months in solitary confinement.  That is significant.  Ms Lechner picks up the fact that that will not have assisted, and will have added further detriment to, your mental health.  You suffer from a number of impairments, including ADHD and others that Ms Lechner sets out in her report, all of which are relevant. 

11They do not, in my judgment, justify a reduction of sentence based on reduction of moral culpability.  However they do come into play in consideration of the difficulty that those mental conditions have upon you in serving a sentence.  There is also a serious risk that further incarceration will lead to a significant deterioration of your mental health. 

12The next significant factor is that there is a letter from Parkville College, which I have marked as Exhibit 3.  The author of that letter, Justine Makdessi, paints a picture of a young man who has significant potential for rehabilitation and who seems to have engaged very well with the opportunities that are offered by Parkville College through your enrolment with O-Street. 

13The points made by Mr Barker about your youth, the importance of promoting rehabilitation of youth and youth being a mitigating factor in itself, along with your plea of guilty, which demonstrates a degree of contrition, support the proposition that I can impose a sentence which seeks to give you the opportunity of rehabilitation through a period on parole.  Hopefully that will start in the not-too-distant future. 

14It seems to me you have reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, despite your criminal record.  At the age of 20, you have a lot of life ahead of you.  You should be given the opportunity of demonstrating that you are capable of moving on from this quite substantial period of criminal activity. 

15I note that you were on bail at the time of the offending.  I will need to impose sentence for that as well. 

16I take into account all of the important principles of sentencing that apply in cases such as this, that is, denunciation, just punishment, protection of the public, general deterrence and individual deterrence.  Rehabilitation is a very significant factor in a case like this, particularly where there are at least glimmers of hope that you have shown an inclination to turn the corner and to make something of your life. 

17You have a history of being an excellent basketballer.  One hopes that you may find some future distraction from the negative peer group that you have been involved with, through sport perhaps. 

18I propose to sentence you as follows:

19For the charge of armed robbery, you are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 30 months, that is two years and six months.

20I fix a non-parole period of 20 months' imprisonment. 

21For the offence of committing an indictable offence whilst on bail, you are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one month which will be concurrent with the first sentence that I have imposed.        

22I declare 687 days pre-sentence detention as time to be reckoned as served on the sentence that I have imposed upon you and deducted from that sentence. 

23The non-parole period I have fixed means that you are now eligible for parole.  There are no other orders are there? 

24MR THOMSON:  A forfeiture order in relation to the imitation firearm, Your Honour.  It has been filed.  That is the only other order. 

25HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  I take it Mr Barker, there is no opposition to that?

26MR BARKER:  No opposition to that, Your Honour, no.

27MR THOMSON:  And Your Honour has to make a 6AAA declaration. 

28HIS HONOUR:  I do indeed. 

29But for your plea of guilty, I would have sentenced you to imprisonment for a period of four years and six months with a non-parole period of two years and three months.  No other matters?

30MR BARKER:  No, Your Honour. 

31MR THOMSON:  Just the forfeiture order Your Honour. 

32HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I make the forfeiture order.  Thank you both. 

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