Director of Public Prosecutions v Meyer (a pseudonym)

[2025] VCC 96

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT WARRNAMBOOL

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DEWITT MEYER (A PSEUDONYM)[1]

[1]To ensure that there is no possibility of identification of the victims of the offending, these sentencing reasons have been anonymised by the adoption of pseudonyms in place of the victim’s names, as well as anonymising other identifying information.  

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE WRAIGHT
WHERE HELD:	Warrnambool
DATE OF HEARING:	31 January 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	7 February 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Meyer (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 96

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW – Sentencing.

Catchwords:              Plea of guilty – Sexual penetration of a child under 12 – Sexual penetration of a child under 16 – Indecent act in the presence of a child under 16 – Sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 – Sexual assault of a child under 16 – Producing child abuse material – Possession of child abuse material – Extremely serious offending – No prior criminal history – Verdins – High risk of reoffending – Reasonable prospects of rehabilitation – Serious sexual offender – General deterrence – Specific deterrence – Community protection.

Legislation Cited:      Crimes Act 1958 ss 45(1), 47(1), 49A(1), 49B(1), 49D(1), 49F(1), 51C(1), 51G(1); Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 3E; Firearms Act 1996 s 124(1); Sentencing Act 1991 ss 5(2), 6AAA, 6D, 6E, 6F, s11A(4)(c), 18; Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004.

Cases Cited:Waldon v The Queen [2016] VSCA 260; Clarkson v The Queen (2011) 32 VR 361.

Sentence:                  Imprisonment for a period of 17 years with a non parole period of 12 years.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Ms C Duckett	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr D Zajd	Victoria Legal Aid

HIS HONOUR:

Introduction

1Dewitt Meyer,[2] on the first indictment you have pleaded guilty to:

(a)three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 contrary to s 45(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (‘Crimes Act’), (Charges 1 and 3), and s 49B(1) of the Crimes Act (Charge 5), which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment (Charges 1, 3 and 5, each being rolled up charges);

(b)two charges of indecent act in the presence of a child under 16, contrary to s 47(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charges 2 and 4, Charge 2 is a rolled up charge);

(c)one charge of sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16, contrary to s 49F(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charge 6); and

(d)one charge of sexual assault of a child under 16, contrary to s 49D(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charge 7).

[2]A pseudonym.

2On the second indictment, you have pleaded guilty to:

(a)four charges of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16 contrary to s 49D(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charges 1, 5, 7 and 10, each being rolled up charges);

(b)one charge of sexual activity in the presence of a child under the age of 16, contrary to s 49F(1) of the CrimesAct, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charge 2, which is a rolled up charge);

(c)four charges of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 12, contrary to s 49A(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment (Charges 4, 8, 9 and 11);

(d)two charges of producing child abuse material contrary to s 51C(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charges 3 and 6, each being rolled up charges); and

(e)one charge of possession of child abuse material contrary to s 51G(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment (Charge 12, which is a rolled up charge).

3You have also pleaded guilty to a related summary offence of possess cartridge ammunition without license contrary to s 124(1) of the Firearms Act 1996, which carries a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units (Summary Charge 53).

4You have no prior criminal history.

Circumstances of the offending

5A summary of prosecution opening was tendered on the plea and may be summarised as follows:

6You were born in October 1977 and were 45 years old at the time of your arrest. You were residing in a rural town with your wife, and your three sons, aged 6, 10 and 13 at the time of offending. You were unemployed and receiving financial support from Workcover due to a back injury.

7The first victim is Ava Holman[3] (‘the first victim’) born in March 2006. She lived with her parents and was between the ages of 9 and 13 when the offending occurred.

[3]A pseudonym.

8The Holman family were close friends with your family. The first victim’s parents are the godparents of two of your children. The first victim’s father was the best man at your wedding.

9Both families would see each other a few times a year. The Holman family would go to your family home to celebrate special occasions and often would stay the night at your residence due to the distance between the houses, the first victim would usually sleep on the mattress on the floor in one of your son’s bedrooms.

10The second victim is Charlotte Dale[4] (‘the second victim’) and was born in May 2020. She is the only child of Kathryn Dale[5] who worked with your wife. You would look after the second victim when her mother had to work.

[4]A pseudonym.

[5]A pseudonym.

11The third victim is Kian Bowers[6] (‘the third victim’) and was born in February 2017. She is your paternal niece and lives with her paternal grandmother.

The First Indictment

Incident One

[6]A pseudonym.

12You first offended against the first victim between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016. She recalls it was around the time her family were planning for her mother’s wedding and that she was about nine years old.

13The first victim and her parents went to your home to celebrate a birthday. She was asleep on a mattress on the floor of your son’s room. She was under a doona and was wearing pants and underwear. You son was sleep in his bed, snoring.

14In the middle of the night, at about 1:00am, you came into the room. You used your mobile phone as a flashlight. You knelt next to the first victim. You took the doona off her and pulled her pants and underwear down. She froze. You inserted your finger or fingers into her vagina (rolled up Charge 1). You touched your penis with your hand (rolled up Charge 2). You alternated between penetrating her vagina with your fingers and touching your penis with your hand for approximately 20 minutes.

15You pulled the first victim’s pants back up, re-covered her with the doona, and left the room. You returned approximately one hour later, again using your phone as a torch. You then did the same thing to the first victim as you did earlier. You pulled her doona down, pulled her pants back down, and inserted your fingers into her vagina (rolled up Charge 1), alternating between touching your own penis with your hand (rolled up Charge 2). You eventually pulled her pants back up, put the doona back on her, and left the room.

Incident Two

16You offended against the first victim again in very similar circumstances between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018. The first victim was between 10 – 11 years old and was at your house with her parents to celebrate a birthday. She remembers playing with your sons that evening and going to bed at around 10:30pm. She slept in your son’s room again and remembers staying up laughing and telling jokes with him before going to bed. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

17When she was half-asleep, you entered the room using your mobile phone as a flashlight. You knelt down next to her mattress, pulled down her shorts and underwear to her knees and inserted your fingers into her vagina (rolled up Charge 3).

18You then removed her shorts completely, spread her legs, and used your tongue to penetrate her vagina. She could feel your beard between her legs. She could feel you licking inside the ‘lips’ of her vagina (rolled up Charge 3). You stroked your penis with your hand, before leaving the bedroom (Charge 4).

Incident Three

19The third incident occurred between 1 March and 19 March 2019, when the first victim was about 12 years old. About one week before her 13th birthday, she went to your house with her parents. This time, she did not think you would do anything to her because she was older.

20Once again, she went to bed on a mattress in your son’s room. She was awake when you entered the room and knelt beside her. You pulled her pants and underwear off and penetrated her vagina with your fingers (rolled up Charge 5). You pulled your pants down, crawled to the end of the bed, and got on top of her. You pulled your hips towards hers and inserted your penis into her vagina (rolled up Charge 5).

21The first victim felt a sharp pain and tried to tell you to stop, but you covered her mouth with your hand. You put your penis in and out of her vagina three or four times before you sat down beside her and started masturbating your penis (Charge 6).

22You then grabbed her hand and put it on your penis. You placed your hand on top of hers and moved it in an up and down motion so as to masturbate your penis further. You whispered in her ear to ‘keep going’ (Charge 7).

23You eventually pulled your pants up and left the room. The first victim retrieved her pants from the floor, picked them up and put them back on herself.

Complaint to Family and Police

24The following day, when the Holman family were travelling home, and had stopped at a petrol station, the first victim said to her mother, ‘I think I’ve been raped’ and that she did ‘not want to go back to your house’. The family did not speak about this further and the matter was dropped.

25Following her disclosure, the few times that her parents told her they were visiting your house, she would ‘kick up a fuss’, cry and say, ‘I don’t want to go’.

26In about February 2023, the first victim’s mother, told her they were planning to visit you. She said she would only go if she could sleep in the same room as her mother. This was the only further time the first victim agreed to go to your house. During the visit the first victim slept with her mother in the spare room. Her mother recalls that she had to accompany the first victim to the bathroom during that night as she did not want to go alone.

27Around this time, you were arrested in relation to the second indictment.

28On 13 February 2023, the first victim’s mother told her that they were still going to your house, but you would not be there because you had been arrested ‘for doing not nice things to some little girls’. The first victim replied, ‘I thought it was only me’.

29On 1 March 2023, the matter was reported to police and the first victim participated in a VARE.

30You declined to be interviewed in relation to this offending.

The Second indictment

31On Thursday 29 December 2022, investigators from the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (‘JOCIT’) executed a search warrant pursuant to section 3E of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) in relation to a separate investigation in Lang Lang, which you were not involved in. Numerous electronic devices were seized relating to the possession, production and transmission of child abuse material.

32Victim Identification Specialists from the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team reviewed the seized devices and located an image depicting a female child aged between 6 - 18 months old with the naked vagina of the female child being the focus of the image, and an adult male hand captured spreading the female child’s labia. The adult male’s right index finger was clearly visible in the image.

33A redacted version of the image was provided to the Victoria Police Forensic Services Department Fingerprint Sciences Group to assist in the identification of the male and of the female child victim. On 7 February 2023, a Preliminary Latent Fingerprint Identification Report identified the right index finger in the photo as belonging to you. Your fingerprints had been previously been obtained as part of your security licence application.

34Further analysis was conducted by investigators, who located a series of four images related to the unknown female child. This was recorded on the International Child Sexual Exploitation (‘ICSE’) database shared by Victim Identification Specialists. One of the four images in the series was the same image that captured your right index finger, and it was clear the images were of the same child at the same location and time.

35The four images were located during the digital forensic analysis of devices seized under search warrant, relating to a separate investigation of a person in Western Australia in 2022. The series of images had been transmitted via the online social media platform ‘Wickr’:

(a)image one depicts a close-up view of a female child’s vagina, aged between 6 – 18 months old, while being penetrated by an adult male’s finger;

(b)image two depicts the same image (different file name) located on the device belonging to the male in Lang Lang which contains your right index finger;

(c)image three depicts a close-up view of a female child’s vagina, aged between 6 – 18 months old, with what appears to be ejaculate covering the child’s labia and vagina; and

(d)image four depicts a female child, aged between 6 - 18 months old, laying on her back with her face visible. The child is naked from the waist down and the pubic mound of her vagina is the focus of the image.

36As a result of the above information, investigators prepared a search warrant application for you and your residential address.

37On Friday 10 February 2023, police went to your address for the purposes of executing the warrant. You were present at the address, along with your wife and your three sons. You were arrested and a digital recorded interview commenced at your address while other police officers searched the address.

38During the search, investigators located your Apple iPhone 8 in your bedroom. Investigators reviewed the mobile phone at the address and a significant amount of child abuse material was located in the ‘deleted gallery’. These images were predominantly of young female children involved in sexual acts.

39An iPhone 6 was located under your bedside table and upon review contained a significant amount of child abuse material. These images were predominantly of young female children involved in sexual acts.

40Investigators also located and seized numerous electronic devices in your bedroom, with three items being of evidentiary value:

(a)1 x HP Laptop which contained child abuse material. These images were predominantly of young female children involved in sexual acts;

(b)1 x MSI notebook PC with cables which contained child abuse material. These images were predominantly of young female children involved in sexual acts; and

(c)1 x Apple iPad mini which contained images of relevance to investigators, however, did not contain child abuse material.

41Police also located and seized the following:

(a)4 x 40mm rounds located in a drawer in a tallboy in your bedroom;

(b)6 x 40mm ammunition rounds and 1 x large calibre ammunition round, located in a container on top of a dressing table in your bedroom;

(c)9 x various ammunition rounds located in a plastic container in your shed; (Summary Charge 53)

(d)1 x doona cover matching the doona cover captured in the child abuse material located on your mobile phone; and

(e)2 x note paper pages with black handwriting which contain a hand written letter by you to your wife. In the letter you make admissions to possessing child abuse material. You wrote, ‘the images on my phone were wrong and disgusting. The only excuse I have is curiosity. You get told you are a monster long enough and you start thinking maybe you are what people say. But I’m not … I have never touched a kid inappropriately and that’s the Gods honest truth’. This note had been written following your wife seeing some of the child abuse material on your phone.  

42After speaking with your wife at your address, the child in the images which contained your right index finger was identified as the second victim, Charlotte Dale.

Record of interview

43During your record of interview, you disclosed that the Apple iPhone 8 and Apple iPad Mini belonged to you and provided all passcodes to the devices. You failed to disclose your additional mobile phone until it was located by police secreted under your bedside table and then you confirmed it belonged to you.

44When asked about the mobile phone application ‘Wickr’, you advised that you used to have the application on your phone for the primary purpose of viewing and sharing pornography but that it was all ‘legal’. It wasn’t until you were further questioned by police that you admitted to looking at child abuse material on the application, stating ‘in my defence, in – the only one I have, is when people call you a monster long enough, you actually become that monster’.

45You admitted to sharing child abuse material on the application, saving the images from Wickr in your deleted album on your mobile phone and that you had viewed child abuse material on your mobile phone a week prior to the search warrant.

46You denied ever taking photographs of children that would be classified as child abuse material or offending against children in a sexual manner.

47During the record of interview, investigators asked you about the second victim. You were asked specifically if you had ever taken images of her or sexually assaulted her, which you denied. When you were shown a redacted image of the second victim, you made admissions to exposing your penis to her, touching her vagina with your fingers, masturbating yourself in her presence and capturing your offending by taking photographs on your mobile phone. You said that you had not offended against any other children.

48After discussing the second victim, investigators showed you a redacted image of the third victim. You made admissions to exposing your penis to the third victim, touching her vagina with your fingers, masturbating yourself in her presence and capturing your offending by taking photographs on your mobile phone.

49You were charged and remanded in custody.

Victim Statements

50The second victim was 2 years and 9 months old when you were arrested and remanded for the above offences, and a Visual and Audio Recorded Evidence (VARE) was not conducted. Her mother provided a written statement to police that outlined the circumstances in which you looked after the second victim as well as providing screenshots of communications via Facebook Messenger where you proactively tried to arrange to care for her.

51On Friday 10 February 2023, police obtained a VARE from the third victim at her primary school. She told police the following:

(a)she was currently 5 years old;

(b)‘he did - he does really bad stuff to me when I have a sleepover there all by myself.’;

(c)it occurred at your wife’s house but she was at work when it happened;

(d)he ‘peed’ in her mouth and it was ‘warm and white.’;

(e)he ‘just made me go in his room and put cream on my butt.’; and  

(f)‘he only said, oh, when you don't drink it, he will smack me.’

52The third victim was unable to particularise much of the offending, however particular instances of offending were later corroborated by the images and videos located on your devices.

Categorisation of Devices

53During the execution of the search warrant, investigators conducted a manual screen recording of all the image and video files within your two mobile phones. The image and video files were later extracted for categorisation.

54To classify the image and video files, the Interpol Baseline System was used, which separates offending images into three categories which are detailed in the prosecution opening. In brief summary Category 1, ‘Interpol Baseline’, relates to images of a prepubescent child and the child is involved in a sex act; Category 2, ‘Other Child Abuse Material’ relates to other material that is illegal but does not fit within the Interpol Baseline category; and Category 3, ‘Investigator Interest’, relates to material that is neither illegal nor child abuse material, however it is of a type that may be of interest from an investigative position.

55Five electronic devices located at your property were deemed evidentiary, with four of these devices containing child abuse material. The fifth device contained images of victims two and three that were general in nature (ie: playing, eating) but showed your interest in these children.

56The below table represents the total number of child abuse material files categorised across the four devices which contained child abuse material (Charge 12).

Category	Images	Unique	Video	Unique	Total Unique
1	4853	4814	802	794	5606
2	4300	3413	155	155	3568
3	875	613	5	5	618
Total	10,008	8,840	962	952	9,792

57The fifth device of interest, your Apple iPad which did not contain any child abuse materials, revealed a further 351 unique images falling into category 3. Of these, 343 images were of the second victim and eight images were of the third victim. These images were general in nature and taken at your property.

58Across the four devices that contained child abuse material, there were 71 images of the second victim, with 25 of those images being Category 1 child abuse material. (Charge 3) Police identified the following instances of offending by analysing the ‘metadata’ of the images.

(a)Incident 1 - On 9 February 2021, in a rural town, you took five images of the second victim (aged approximately 8 months old), four of which were Category 1 child abuse material. The images depict the following:

i.your exposed penis on the exposed buttock of the second victim (1 image);

ii.your exposed penis is on top of the exposed vagina of the second victim (3 images); and

iii.your exposed penis near the bare buttock of the second victim – (Charge 1, rolled up) (1 image).

(b)Incident 2 - On 13 September 2021, in a rural town, you took four images of the second victim (aged approximately 1 year, 4 months old), three of which were Category 1 child abuse material. The image depicts the following:

i.the second victim sitting on your lap as you lays down on your bed, with your exposed penis in the image (Charge 2, rolled up) (3 images).

(c)Incident 3 - On 14 September 2021, in a rural town, you took ten images of the second victim (aged approximately 1 year, 4 months old), seven of which were Category 1 child abuse material. The images depicted the following:

i.your fingers inside the vagina of the second victim (2 images) (Charge 4);

ii.the exposed vagina of the second victim with what appears to be ejaculation on her vagina – (1 image);

iii.you using your fingers to expose the labia of the second victim - (2 images) (Charge 5 (rolled up);

iv.a close up image of the exposed vagina of the second victim (1 image); and

v.a full length image of the second victim laying on a bed, naked from the waist down with her vagina exposed (1 image).

(d)Incident 4: On 5 October 2021, in a rural town, you took twelve images of the second victim (aged approximately 1 year, 5 months old), ten of which were Category 1 child abuse material. The images depicted the following:

i.the second victim laying on the bed with no clothing on from the waist down (1 image);

ii.a close-up image of the exposed vagina of the second victim (1 image);

iii.the exposed vagina of the second victim with what appears to be ejaculation on her vagina (2 images);

iv.you using your fingers to spread the vagina of the second victim (1 image);

v.your fingers placed on top of the exposed vagina of the second victim (1 image) (Charge 10 (rolled up);

vi.your exposed penis touching the mouth of the second victim (2 images);

vii.your penis touching the lips and tongue of the second victim – (1 image) (Charge 11); and

viii.the exposed vagina of the second victim with the your exposed penis in the image (1 image) (Charge 2, rolled up).

59Across the four devices that contained child abuse material, there were 186 images and videos of the third victim, with twenty of those images being Category 1 child abuse material, one of the videos being Category 1 child abuse material and four of the images being Category 2 child abuse material (Charge 6).

(a)Incident 1: On 17 September 2021, in a rural town, you took five images of the third victim (aged approximately 4 years, 7 months), one of which is Category 1 child abuse material and four of which are Category 2 child abuse material. The images depicted the following:

i.a close-up image of the exposed vagina of the third victim (1 image);

ii.a close-up image of the bare buttock of the third victim (1 image);

iii.the third victim lifting her top and exposing her bare chest (2 images); and

iv.the third victim lifting her top and exposing her bare chest while her pants are pulled down exposing her exposed vagina (1 image).

(b)Incident 2: On 25 September 2021, in a rural town, you took sixteen images/videos of the third victim (aged approximately 4 years, 7 months old), sixteen of which are Category 1 child abuse material. The images depicted the following:

i.the third victim on her hands and knees with her bare buttock facing the camera with what appears to be ejaculation on her buttocks (2 images);

ii.a close-up image of the third victim’s vagina taken from behind (1 image);

iii.a close-up image of the third victim’s buttocks taken from behind (1 image);

iv.the third victim on her back with her legs spread and your exposed penis up against her exposed vagina (2 images);

v.the third victim using her hand to touch your erect penis (1 image);

vi.a black massager placed on the third victim’s exposed vagina – (3 images) (Charge 7 (rolled up));  

vii.a close-up image of you using your fingers to expose the third victim’s vagina (1 image) (Charge 8); and

viii.A 22-second video of you penetrating the third victim’s vagina with your finger. Your doona cover is clearly visible in the above images/video (Charge 9).

Representative CAM

60The prosecution opening provides a cross section of Category 1 and Category 2 image and video files that were possessed by you. Examples are given in the prosecution opening which I will not reproduce in these sentencing reasons, however, of the examples given, there are depictions of infants (aged 4 weeks – 1 year), toddlers (aged 12 months – 24 months) and prepubescent females (aged 6 – 12).

Nature and gravity of offending

61Your offending is undoubtedly extremely serious, involving the sexual abuse of three very young children and includes you taking images and videos of two of the victims thereby producing and possessing child abuse material.

62Turning to the first indictment, your offending occurred between 2015 and 2019 and relates to one victim. It includes three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 where the victim was aged between 9 and 12. As to the second indictment, which relates to the second and third victims, the offending against the two victims occurred from February 2021 to October 2021. The charge relating to your possession of child abuse material relates to what was found in your possession on 10 February 2023 following your arrest and includes images taken of the two victims.

63The second victim was 2 years and 9 months old at the time of your arrest in February 2023. The third victim was 5 years old when she conducted a VARE to police in February 2023.

64While all of your conduct is very serious, I note that in relation to the second victim, you first sexually assaulted her when she was 8 months old (Charge 1) taking multiple photographs of your conduct at the time. In relation to the same victim, when she was 16 and 17 months old you sexually penetrated her (Charges 4 and 11) and sexually assaulted her (Charge 5), again taking multiple photographs of your conduct. In relation to the third victim, your offending occurred when she was approximately 4 years and 7 months old.

65The possession of child abuse material across four devices in your possession included 71 images of the second victim, 25 of which were category 1 child abuse material, and 186 images and videos of the second victim, 20 of which were category 1 child abuse material. The remaining videos and images were of other children including very young children.

66Your abuse can only be described as abhorrent. It occurred over a protracted period – a four year period in relation to the first indictment and a two year period in relation to the second indictment. It is also conduct that involved a gross breach of the trust the children’s parents placed in you. While you stated to your psychologist that you felt ‘disgusted’ in relation to the first victim, demonstrating some degree of insight, you nonetheless continued to offend against two very young children some two years later in a most depraved manner.

67As noted in Waldon v The Queen,[7] ‘sexual offending against children must be viewed as extremely serious, particularly where (as is often the case) such offences involve breaches of trust and responsibility on the part of those who had such young persons in their care.’ Further, it is well established that the absolute prohibitions on under age sexual activity are founded on a presumption of harm.[8]

[7][2016] VSCA 260, [30] (Redlich and Kyrou JJA).

[8]Clarkson v The Queen (2011) 32 VR 361, [33] (Maxwell ACJ, Nettle, Neave, Redlich and Harper JJA).

68In all the circumstances in my view your offending represents an extremely serious example of the sexual abuse of children and your moral culpability is very high.

Victim impact statements

69Seven victim impact statements were tendered on the plea, which I have read and taken into account.

70Each statement eloquently describes the devastating pain your offending has had on each respective victim. While I will not refer to each victim’s statement individually, collectively, the theme from these statements is the profound sadness and anger the victims and their families have endured as a result of your offending.

71The second victim’s mother read her statement aloud at the plea hearing.  She states how she cannot trust her own judgement anymore and feels her child is no longer safe in the world. In addition to the hypervigilance she experiences for her child, she speaks to her own experience, her loss of employment and the general anxiety of living with and processing what you have done. She states that she now feels that her experience of parenting is tainted and without joy and describes the guilt and pain she carries and will carry for the rest of her life. 

72The third victim’s father also describes the anger and frustration he feels towards himself. He details his difficulties sleeping and the trauma he experiences when he reflects on what has happened to his daughter. Again, as is reflected in the other statements tendered, the third victim’s father notes he does not trust anyone around his daughter and dreads the impact the offending will have on her in her future once she begins to understand what has happened to her.

Personal circumstances

73You were born in 1977 and grew up on a large beef farm outside of Warrnambool. You are the youngest of four children. You describe your early life on the farm as isolated and lonely and that you had little contact with others. You do not recall any affection between your parents or towards you.

74At age 5, you report that the family farm was destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bushfires and that your grandfather suffered burns to about 80% of his body, passing away two days later.

75You state that you had a difficult relationship with your father who was emotionally impacted by the fires and that both your parents were heavy drinkers until they ceased alcohol consumption. Your father passed away six years ago after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Since your remand, you report that you have no contact with your sisters or your mother.

76You married your wife in 2005 and you have three sons together. You report that there have been periods of infidelity throughout your marriage.  You state you no longer have contact with your wife and that you have not spoken to your children since being remanded.

77You state that you struggled academically and socially, especially in primary school. You moved out of home after finishing school, the result of having a falling out with your father. You report that during this time you couch surfed, drank and smoked cannabis every day until you were 18. You then obtained your licence and secured employment in the security industry where you were employed until 2017, following an altercation at work. You returned to milking cows until 2020 when you suffered a herniated disc. You report your mental health declined markedly after this injury.

78Following your injury, in October 2020, your doctors instructed you to stop all manual labour. You received a cortisol injection to assist with the pain which in turn, temporarily paralysed your right leg. In August of 2021, you had surgery on your back. The surgery was only partially successful and you still suffer from significant chronic back pain. The medications you take for pain relief and the relevant physiotherapy and hydrotherapy are not available to you in custody.

79You have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Order and residual and untreated symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You also present with symptoms of Paedophilic Disorder. A report of Carla Lechner dated 23 December 2024 was tendered on the plea. Ms Lechner opines that you have always had limited social networks and that you are currently very isolated, and that you admit to long-standing feelings of anger and resentment.

80Ms Lechner notes that when asked about your offending, you showed limited insight regarding the betrayal of trust that your behaviour represents. She opines that you are at a high risk of sexual reoffending and that you harbour deviant sexual desires that you are not willing to discuss. Ms Lechner is concerned that you have sought to impose your power over such vulnerable young victims.

81Whilst in custody, you have been classified as being at risk from others and have been subject to protection placements. Importantly, you have demonstrated your willingness to engage in the voluntary psychosocial program, Hope Inside and have engaged in multiple education courses.

Sentencing considerations

Matters in mitigation

82Mr Zajd who appeared on your behalf highlighted a number of matters to be taken into account in mitigation.

83First is your plea of guilty. You were remanded in February 2023 and made a plea offer in relation to the second indictment in July 2023 which was accepted. In relation to the first indictment, you indicted a plea of guilty in October 2024, however s 198A hearings were conducted in February 2024. I also note that in relation to the second indictment you participated in a record of interview making several admissions and you provided investigators with information allowing them to access your devices. I accept that your pleas of guilty can be considered early pleas. Your pleas have avoided the need for a trial and most importantly, the need for young victims to have to give evidence. Thus by your pleas of guilty you have promoted the course of justice.

84It was submitted that Verdins principles 1, 5 and 6 are enlivened, relying on the report and findings of Ms Lechner. Turning first to principle 1. Ms Lechner found that symptoms she observed in you ‘indicate long-term symptoms of depression and trauma arising from an emotionally cold upbringing’.[9] However she also concludes that while your level of depression may have some impact on your ability to make rational decisions, your paedophilic interests were most at play at the time of the offending.[10] You stated to Ms Lechner that ‘you didn’t know why you did it’ and that you were ‘turned on by the risk and the power’.[11] In my view the evidence does not allow for a realistic connection between any condition you may have been suffering and your offending in order to reduce you moral culpability pursuant to Verdins principle 1.

[9]Report of Carla Lechner, p 5.

[10]Ibid, p10(iii).

[11]Ibid, p 5.

85Turning to Verdins principle 5, I accept that you entered prison in a low mood and have been housed in a management unit which is likely to continue given the nature of your offending. That said it seems that you have responded well to treatment and your mood has improved. In my view principle 5 of Verdins has some application but only to a limited degree. However the evidence does not support the application of Verdins 6 that there is a serious risk of imprisonment having a significant adverse effect on your mental health.

86In relation to your serious back injury I take into account that the types of treatment you were receiving such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and certain medications are not as readily available in custody making it more burdensome to manage the injury.

87Turning to your prospects of rehabilitation, it is difficult to make a determination. While you have no prior criminal history, you have been assessed by Ms Lechner as being a ‘high’ risk of reoffending which will remain high without significant and intensive treatment. Mr Lechner further states that the nature and extent of your paedophilic sexual interest in not known and that you have limited insight regarding the betrayal of trust that your behaviour represented, as the children had been entrusted to your care. You have lost the support of your wife, your children and your extended family. As such, you will be isolated in custody while you serve a significant term of imprisonment with little prospect of family support upon your release. Nonetheless, you have expressed a desire to engage in treatment programs and you accept that your conduct was morally and legally wrong. At this stage based on the evidence your prospects cannot be assessed positively. However, if you maintain your desire to address your offending conduct and engage in long term treatment, your prospects could then be assessed as at least reasonable.

Other sentencing considerations

88General deterrence is the primary sentencing consideration in relation to offending involving child abuse and child exploitation. Others contemplating such conduct must be reminded that sexual offending involving children will result in substantial terms of imprisonment. Denunciation of your conduct and protection of the community are also relevant in this instance and, based on the views of Ms Lechner in relation to your limited insight, in my view specific deterrence must also carry some weight in the sentencing calculus.

89In addition to the matters that I am required to take into account under s 5(2) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (‘Sentencing Act’), I must also take into account that a number of charges to which you have pleaded guilty are standard sentence offences. On the first indictment the following charges are standard sentence offences:

·Charge 5, sexual penetration of a child under 16 – the standard sentence being 6 years imprisonment.

·Charge 6, sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 – the standard sentence being 4 years imprisonment.

·Charge 7, sexual assault of a child under 16 – the standard sentence being 4 years imprisonment.

On the second indictment the following charges are standard sentence offences:

·Charges 1, 5, 7 and 10, sexual assault of a child under 16 – the standard sentence being 4 years imprisonment.

·Charge 2, sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 – the standard sentence being 4 years imprisonment.

·Charges 4, 8, 9 and 11 – sexual penetration of a child under 12 – the standard sentence being 10 years imprisonment.

90In relation to each charge subject to a standard sentence, having identified and considered the relevant factors in assessing the appropriate sentence as part of the instinctive synthesis, including the maximum penalties, the standard sentence and the serious nature of your offending, on those charges to which a standard sentence applies, the sentences I will impose relate to the standard sentences as follows:

·On the first indictment, the sentence on Charge 5 falls above the standard sentence. On Charges 6 and 7 the sentences fall below the standard sentence.

·On the second indictment, on Charges 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9,10 and 11 the sentences fall below the standard sentence.

91Pursuant to s 6F of the Sentencing Act, as you will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment on Charges 1 and 3 on the first indictment, you fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender on the remaining charges that are sexual offence charges pursuant to serious offender provisions. As such, any sentence of imprisonment imposed on Charge 5 onwards on the relevant charges, attracts a presumption of cumulation pursuant s 6E requiring the court to consider protection of the community as the principal sentencing purpose pursuant to s 6D. However the prosecution does seek a disproportionate sentence to achieve these ends, and the overarching principle of totality therefore continues to apply.

92Pursuant to s11A(4)(c) of the Sentencing Act in fixing a non parole period for a standard sentence offence, where the term of imprisonment is less than 20 years the court must fix a non parole period of at least 60 per cent unless the court considers it is in the interests of justice not to do so. It was submitted on your behalf that any non parole period should be lower than 60 per cent given your prospects of rehabilitation and your willingness to accept ongoing treatment. Taking into account the relevant sentencing considerations, in all the circumstances I am not persuaded that it is in the interest of justice to fix the non parole period below 60 per cent.

Sentence

93Mr Meyer, would you please stand.

94Dewitt Meyer, in relation to the first indictment on Charges 1 and 3, sexual penetration of a child under 16 years, you are convicted and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on each charge. On Charge 5, sexual penetration of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. On Charges 2 and 4, indecent act with a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment on each charge. On Charge 6 sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment. On Charge 7 sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.

95I direct that 2 years of the sentence on Charges 1 and 3 be served cumulatively on each other and on Charge 5 making for a total effective sentence on the first indictment of 11 years imprisonment.

96In relation the second indictment on Charges 1, 5, 7 and 10, sexual assault of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment on each charge. On Charge 2, sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. On Charges 4, 9 and 11 sexual penetration of a child under 12, you are convicted and sentenced to 9 years imprisonment on each charge. On Charge 8, sexual penetration of a child under 12, you are convicted and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment. On Charges 3 and 6, producing child abuse material you are convicted and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment on each charge. On Charge 12, possession of child abuse material, you are convicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment.

97I direct that 2 years of the sentence on Charges 9 and 11, and 12 months of the sentence on Charge 12 be served cumulatively on each other and on Charge 4 making for a total effective sentence on the second indictment of 14 years imprisonment.

98I further direct that 3 years of the total sentence on the first indictment be served cumulatively on the total sentence imposed on the second indictment making for a total effective sentence of 17 years imprisonment in respect of all charges to which you have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment. I direct that you serve 12 years before becoming eligible for parole.

99On Summary Charge 53, possess cartridge ammunition without exemption or excuse, you are convicted and fined $750.

100Pursuant to s 18 of the Sentencing Act, I declare that 728 days be reckoned as the period of imprisonment already served under the sentence I have imposed. That does not include today.

101Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act, I indicate that had you not pleaded guilty, I would have sentenced you to a period of 24 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 17 years.

102Further, pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004, as you have been convicted of a number of Class 1 and Class 2 offences you will be required to comply with reporting obligations for the remainder of your life.