Director of Public Prosecutions v Milley

[2018] VCC 1514

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 17-01709

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DEAN MILLEY

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE RIDDELL
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	30 August 2018
DATE OF SENTENCE:	17 September 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Milley
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 1514

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	Ms C. Duckett (Plea) Ms G. Suhren (Sentence)
For the Accused	Ms S. Lacy

HER HONOUR:

1Dean Jason Milley, you have pleaded guilty to seven charges involving grooming and committing an indecent act with a nine year old child, possessing child pornography and various breaches of your reporting obligations under the Sex Offenders Registration Act.

2The history of those matters is as follows:  you were born on 4 August 1971 and at the time of these offences you were 46 years old.  You were residing in Kingsville with your mother; Lynne, a friend; Isaac Whitley[1], and your 26 year old partner, Brayden Yong Cheng[2].

[1] Name changed for Anonymisation

[2] Name changed for Anonymisation

3Isaac Whitley is a registered sex offender, subject to SORA[3] reporting conditions.  You and he originally met in 2002 and he came to live with you in 2016.

[3]Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic)

4You are a registered offender, subject to reporting conditions imposed on you on 29 November 2006.  You are subject to these reporting conditions for life.

5You had previously worked at Telstra with a man named, Blake Woodward[4].  He was aware you had a criminal record and were on the sex offenders’ registry.  Mr Woodward was going out with a Ms Savannah Meeson.[5]  The victim in the contact offences in this matter is her son, Archer Meeson.[6]  He was born on
27 February 2007.  At the time the offences commenced he was 9 years old.  He has high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome.

[4] Name changed for Anonymisation

[5] Name changed for Anonymisation

[6] Name changed for Anonymisation

6At the beginning of July 2016 you met Woodward and Savannah Meeson socially to play pool at the Arcadia Hotel in South Yarra.  They brought along Archer.  Meeson and Woodward could not quantify the number of occasions where they met you at the Arcadia with Archer.  You estimate there were approximately ten times when Woodward and Meeson met up with you and had Archer with them.

7On one of those occasions there was a discussion about the difficulty Woodward and Meeson were having finding time alone together without Archer.  You told them you would be happy to babysit him at any time to give them a night off.

8The first time you babysat Archer was sometime in October 2016.  You were asked to attend Meeson’ house in Hughesdale and babysit.  Woodward and Meeson returned on that occasion before midnight.

9On another occasion later that year arrangements were made by Woodward and Meeson for you to babysit Archer overnight at your residence.  They met you at the Arcadia Hotel and afterwards you took Archer to your house, where he stayed overnight.

10On Thursday, 17 December 2016, you and Mr Cheng met Woodward and Archer at the Chadstone Shopping Centre to go shopping and play pool.

11On another occasion, on a weekend during the Christmas period, you dropped into Woodward and Meeson' house as Mr Cheng was out with friends.  Archer was then taken by you to your residence, where he remained for two days.  During that period Archer reported playing games with you on a PlayStation.

12On 1 January 2017, arrangements were made for Archer to stay at your house by Woodward, sending you a text message on Meeson’ phone.  It read,

"Hey mate, did you want to have Archer overnight - over tonight, free of charge, bonuses don't apply".

13You replied,

"What night?  When?  Sure.  Tonight?  Yes, sure, what time?"

14Arrangements were made to meet at the Arcadia Hotel from where you took Archer home.  One this occasion he stayed at your residence for two days.  Each time Archer stayed overnight at your residence he would sleep in your bed, between you and Mr Cheng.

15On 3 January 2017 Mr Cheng took Archer out in Melbourne for the day.  During which time he used your phone to take photographs of Archer and send them to you.

16On 6 January 2017 Mr Cheng returned to China, planning to stay there until the end February 2017.

17On 20 January 2017 you organised for Archer to stay at your residence.  That evening you drove to Ms Meeson' residence and collected Archer, arriving back at your residence at dinner time.  These events represent Charge 4, of grooming for sexual conduct with a child under 16.  That night Archer slept in your bed with you.

18On 21 January 2017, that is early the next morning, at approximately 1.24 am, Archer was asleep in your bed.  You lifted the rear of his pyjama pants while he slept.  You then took a series of eight photographs.  Five of those photographs show your hand pulling the victim's pyjama bottoms to expose his buttocks.  The photographs are classified as child exploitation material.  These events represent Charge 5, of indecent act with a child under 16, and Charge 6, make or produce child pornography.

19At approximately 8.22 am that morning you took another photograph of Archer sitting on your couch, playing a console video game.  Later that day you had a video chat with Mr Cheng and showed live stream of yourself, Archer, an unidentified Vietnamese male, your mother and Mr Whitley at your house.

20That afternoon Mr Whitley contacted his psychologist, Sarah Ashton, telling her that he had concerns about home and Dean.  Whitley also emailed Detective Senior Constable Tony So, however So was on leave.

21On 22 January, at approximately 9 am, you sent Mr Whitley two of the photographs you had taken of Archer in your bed on 21 January.  You asked him later whether he had received them. He told you they were too bright.  You responded, "That was all I could get".  Whitley had in fact deleted the images.  Whitley responded telling you that you had better hope for both their sakes that, "The guys in Docklands aren't watching our phones", which is no doubt a reference to police.  To which you responded, "You use VPN, don't you?"

22Later that day you drove Archer back to Ms Meeson' residence.  Mr Whitley later attended Ms Ashton's clinic and told her that you had babysat a child on two occasions.  On 1 February 2017 she contacted Detective Senior Constable So.

23You had not reported any of your contact with Archer, during the period July 2016 to January 2017, to the chief commissioner as you are required to do.  Those events relate to Charge 2, failing to comply with your reporting conditions.

24On 9 February 2017 investigators executed a search warrant at your house.  Various phones and devices were seized.  The photographs taken of Archer on 21 January, between 1.24 am and 1.30 am were located on your phone.  Also located were the following:  numerous emails from Craigslist seeking teenage boys, using multiple log in names; numerous searches for child pornography on the internet history; numerous text message conversations on an application called 'Kik', where it appears you have used multiple login names and engaged a number of other kick users purporting to be teenage boys, aged 16 years and under, seeking to meet them; a text message conversation on the Kik app where you told another user that you have child pornography on your hard drive, containing children as young as three years old and that it was usual for fathers to have sexual relations with their sons in China; and lastly, messages indicating that you had travelled to Tasmania between
27 and 29 October 2015 and returned from interstate travel to Queensland without reporting.  That last matter relates to Charge 1, failing to comply with your reporting conditions by no advising of travel.  The other matters relate to Charge 3, failing to comply with your reporting conditions by way of having a number of usernames, which were not reported as required.

25You were interviewed.  In short, your interview reveals a distinct lack of insight.  You stated you did not report your contact with Archer as you just wanted a normal life and the reporting has got tighter over the years and you do not think you should even be on it, not for the types of things they want you to report as you were just in possession of child pornography and you did not hurt anyone.

26You expressed your anger and frustration at being on the SORA, blaming your ex-partner.  You admitted liking young guys, but stated they needed to be over 18 years.  You denied any sexual attraction to Archer.  You claimed that he slept in your bed as he was scared on the couch; that if he had not been on SORA it would not have been an issue.  You admitted with hindsight it would have been better to have him sleep with your mother.

27You admitted knowing Archer suffered from Asperger's syndrome.  You denied having a picture of his buttocks.  You told police they were not going to find anything on your phone that should not been there as you have no downloaded, kept or looked for child pornography and you have not got anything of anyone underage.

28In relation to travelling you stated you did not want to offend, but had failed to report, not deliberately, but had made a decision even though you know are obliged to report.

29You stated the Kik app was just fantasy talk and you were never going to meet anyone on it as you manipulated so that you both back out.  And you said ‘most people responding are anything from 19 to 32 and that that is good age, and you think the chat with the 16 year old is just pretending to be 16 to turn you on and half the time you get to their house and tell them that you have boyfriend and you have never met those ones that were no legal age’.

30That same night a VARE statement was conducted with Archer Meeson.  During that VARE Archer stated that he viewed you as his best friend, that you get him anything he wants and give him money to buy food and play games with him.  He spoke of sleeping in your bed, saying that he sleeps in Dean's bed, in the middle of Brayden and Dean and sometimes they ask if he wants to play a game with them and they have to touch him under the blanket without using their feet and then he goes to sleep.

31Your phone was analysed and revealed child exploitation material, namely still images of 46 category CEM; no sexual activity; four category CEM; child non-penetrative; one-hundred and eighteen category, non-illegal but connected, and movies of eight category, non-illegal but connected.

32Amongst the images observed during the categorisation process were unidentified children as young as three years of age, children of prepubescent age and pubescent children that appear under 18 years of age.  It was conceded by the prosecution that there were a number of duplicate images.  These matters relate to Charge 7, possession of child pornography.

33During the process of categorisation there were images located of the victim, including him being at your address.  There were ten category CEM no sexual activity, and 86 category non-illegal but connected images.

34During the examination of your phone usernames used by you in breach of your reporting obligations and web browser searchers were found as follows, "Best Country for Holiday Sex with Boys", "Best Country for Child Sex", "Understanding Child Sex Tourism", Top Five Countries with highest rates for Child Prostitution", and "Child Sex Tourism Flourishing in Developing Countries".

35In summary, you are to be sentenced in relation to three sets of offences:  the contact offending against nine year old Archer; the breaches of your obligations, pursuant to SORA; and your possession of the child pornography.

36Each of those are serious offences.  Protection of children from sexual offending is fundamental within a civilised society.  Upholding legislative schemes which seek to enforce those protections is important.  Sentences must deter others from similarly disobeying their obligations.

37In relation to Archer the offending is objectively serious in the following ways:  you took advantage of a very young child.  He was a child with a disability of which you were aware.  His mother reports having a number of conversations with you or in your presence about Archer's difficulties and disability.  You took the opportunity to volunteer yourself as his babysitter, then to sleep with him in your bed.  On 21 January you knew you would be alone at night with him.  This was a serious breach of his trust and the trust granted to you by his mother and by her partner, who was your friend.  Once alone with him you took the opportunity to commit an indecent act on him and to record his exposed body photographically and to then share it with another male.  Another male who you knew to be a sex offender.  It is only good fortune that it was not passed on, because once sent you then had no control over its distribution.

38In mitigation I accept that the grooming offence is only reflective of the single day.  Although it is not alleged that the contact over the preceding months constitute part of the grooming behaviour, I must of course view that offence in its realistic setting.  That is, he was a child with whom you were in contact, in breach of your SORA obligations for a period of months and in that time you took opportunities to babysit and to foster a relationship with both him and his mother.  That is of course relevant to the breach of trust.

39In mitigation I accept that the indecent act, involving the pulling down of the child's pants and exposing his buttocks, is at the lower end of a scale of seriousness.  It was a reasonably brief episode, which did not otherwise involve touching him.  His genitals are not shown in the photographs and his face is not depicted, therefore he is not recognisable.  Further, I accept that he was asleep and therefore did not known about the offending at the time and therefore was not immediately traumatised.  Having said that, I note the contents of the two victim impact statements from his mother.

40In relation to the breaches of your SORA obligations, regular and repeated contact with a child over a period of some six months without reporting it was known to you to be in clear breach of your obligations.  The SORA and your obligations under it exist to prevent you having any unauthorised contact with children.  I accept the prosecution's submission that this breach is what enabled the commission of Charges 4, 5 and 6.  The fact that you sought out contact, volunteering your services as a babysitter and then having the child stay overnight at your house, including sleeping in your bed and including when you were alone with him, is a serious breach.

41You are a man with a history of sexual penetration of a child under the age of ten years and between the ages of ten and 16 years.  Breaches of that obligation, therefore, must be treated seriously.

42Through your contact you also exposed that child to contact with another registered sex offender.

43Your travel interstate is a breach of the scheme, as is your non-reporting of different usernames.  While on their face these are less serious, those conditions also exist for a reason.  You have prior convictions for breaching your reporting conditions.  Although I accept the descriptions of them as minor breaches, for example, occasionally staying at a hotel where you were working in Mansfield rather than travelling home for the night and failing to report that as required.  The nature of the previous breaches is reflected in the financial penalties imposed.

44However, while you express frustration about your SORA obligations and the fact that your ex-partner has less serious requirements, your life time reporting is very obviously referrable to your serious prior criminal history.  You must apply those obligations to the letter.

45Finally, in relation to the child pornography.  Courts have long regarded possession of child pornography as a serious offence, reflecting violation of children for distribution to others and often for profit.  The web searches found regarding child sex tourism, regardless of when they were made, are a disturbing backdrop to the images.  And the usernames found on your devices similarly so.  Sadly there are cases which involve many more images and images of more graphic detail.  However, I do note the age of children in your case was extremely young, some as young as three.

46You have a prior conviction for knowingly possess child pornography from 2006.  In that instance some 1,500 images were located.  They included images of children as young as four years and included images of anal and vaginal penetration.

47I am mindful of what the Court of Appeal have said in Gartside[7] and other cases regarding child pornography offences.  That is, a term of immediate imprisonment will ordinarily be expected for this very serious, morally depraved conduct that is harmful to children.  The presumption of harm applies no less to cybersex offences than to in person offences.

[7]

48In relation to all charges, general deterrence, denunciation and protection of the community are paramount considerations.  In your case specific deterrence is also relevant.

49Your back ground was outlined by your counsel on your plea.  It is also contained in psychological reports from Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Jeffrey Cummins, one report dated 2 November 2006, and a further report from him dated 20 August 2018, along with a report from forensic psychologist Dr Dion Gee, dated 28 November 2017.

50My own summary of your background is that it was a difficult one.  You were the victim of sexual abuse as a child.  Your sexuality has been confused since your early years, however you identify as homosexual.  You were brought up by parents who were devout Born Again Christians and who did not recognise or approve of your homosexuality.  Your life experience, including a period when there were attempts to ‘cure you’ of homosexuality, therefore reflects both a belief system and an era when such things were deeply misunderstood.  No doubt there has been a resultant effect on you.

51In more detail your history is as follows.  You are 47 years of age, the second of four children.  Your two younger sisters have both been present at various stages of these proceedings and love and support you.  They have regularly visited you in custody and write you letters.  They say you now openly discuss your offending and your current situation with them, including your treatment goals.

52Your mother is currently very unwell with multiple myeloma, a painful and debilitating cancer.  She also has some dementia and fibromyalgia.  She's cared for by a younger relative.

53You grew up in Sunbury.  Your father who owned Sunbury Pumps died of a brain aneurism at age 69, approximately six years ago.

54You report being sexually abused by your maternal uncle, who is now deceased, when you were around age four or five.  You also report being sexually abused by a school teacher throughout the period from Grade 1 to Grade 6.  You have recently made a statement to police concerning those matters.  You also told Dr Gee about abuse by a youth leader at age 11 or 12.

55You commenced having sexual contact with adult men from when you were aged around 11.  When you were sexually abused by your uncle at age four or five, your uncle was then around 15.  You say you have never had any ill feelings towards him.  According to the expert reports this fact demonstrates your difficulty in accurately assessing issues of sexual abuse.  There has clearly been an influence on your psychological profile, whereby you have become confused regarding what is meaningful, healthy relationship.

56You attended St Albans Secondary College.  You suffered a deal of bullying at school, no doubt as a result of your sexuality.  You missed a lot of school, however managed to pass Year 12.  You report being rejected, bashed and teased constantly.  You recall examples of being thrown into a locker and urinated on.  You had a suicide attempt as a 14 year old when you took an overdose of your mother's sleeping pills.

57Both of your parents were very committed Born Again Christians and you were brought up in that faith.  You spent a deal of your formative years participating in church activities.  Any friendships you did have were via the church.

58You believe your parents would have been aware of your homosexuality from when you were aged about 17.  At 21 years of age your parish minister observed you were struggling with your sexuality.  You were then required to declare your sin to congregation, who were asked to vote on whether you could continue to take communion.  You were rejected.

59You parents thereafter insisted that you participate in an Exodus Program run by the Born Again Christian Church.  This involved group sessions with other gay or lesbian young men and women, wherein you all learnt the skills to be heterosexual.  You also had individual sessions called, "Accountability sessions", where you were required to confess the ways in which you had failed.  Sessions were run by church ministers with no psychological or counselling training.  Unsurprisingly, you describe this as a dark period in your life.  It went for some five years.  You coped by drinking heavily and with some experimentation with illicit drug use.  This 'treatment' went on for five years before you removed yourself.  You were prescribed anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication at approximately 20 years of age.

60From age 27 you formed a steady relationship with a man named Mark who was around your age, and that relationship then continued until you were aged about 36.  You spend 12 months being Marks carer in 2004, after he was involved in a serious car accident.

61Despite the difficulties you completed a dual apprenticeship in aircraft frame management and aircraft engine maintenance over four years with Qantas.  However, you were bullied at work and ceased working there after being on extended stress leave.  You eventually resigned from Qantas and received a settlement payout.

62You have had a good work record throughout your adult life, working in a wide variety of unskilled jobs.  After leaving Qantas you worked as a furniture removalist and in the hospitality industry, in car sales and in the retail industry.  You managed the Meredith Hotel for six months, worked in customer service with SalMat for four years, worked in Telstra complaints for three years, with Avis car rental for one year and with Origin Energy for six months.  Your last possession was with Nufarm Chemicals in Laverton, where you worked for seven months.  You were undertaking that work when arrested in February 2017.  You have now been on remand since that time.  You have not been offered offence specific programs.

63As noted, you are a man with a prior criminal history.  In 2006 you were placed on a Community Based Order for being knowingly in possession of child pornography.  Despite being on that order for 24 months and there being a direction to undergo sex offender programs you completed the 50 hours of unpaid community work, however did not complete a sex offender course.  In this regard you were told to attend a few sessions, which you expected to run for approximately six months.  After six weeks you were told you could stop attending.

64According to Mr Cummins your attendance in a group based sex offender program over only six weeks would barely have covered an introduction to the course content and did not include giving you opportunity to critically examine your own history of sexual abuse, which is very likely to be of significance relevance to your own offending history and to your most recent offending.

65This is your first term of imprisonment and you have now been on remand for a significant period of time.  You have had visits from family and two close friends, although you have not received any visits since being transferred to Hopkins approximately six months ago, due to the distance.

66In August 2017 you attempted suicide by hanging yourself with your shoelaces whilst in custody.  You reported,

"I was feeling very low because I got the news of Mum's cancer and her dimension and I found out Brayden may be going back to China".

67You had requested an assessment and were seen by Forensicare before attempting suicide.  After your attempt you spent three days in the observation unit and then about five or six weeks in a management unit at Barwon, before spending seven months at Port Phillip and later being transferred to Hopkins.  You are now medicated on an antidepressant.  Dr Gee described you in November 2017 as being depressed and suggestive of a mental state that was in decline.

68Your relationship with Mr Cheng is unclear at this stage, though you are hopeful it will continue.

69You have undertaken some courses in custody and continue to pursue those, and to that end I received a bundle of certificates.

70I also received a number of written testimonials, including from two friends who have known you for 22 and 25 years, respectively.  They speak of you as a trustworthy and reliable friend; first to offer assistance.  They have valued your friendship and your support when you have given it to them.  You have been open with these friends about your offending, they have visited you in custody.  One has offered accommodation on your release.  They say you are looking to better yourself on your release.

71Somewhat ironically you have rediscovered religion in custody.  That came about through your introduction to a multi-faith chapel, where all were welcome.  You have had an opportunity to grieve your experiences as a young man.  You have in fact completed a unit in theology.  You have found those ministering in the custodial setting as more open minded and accepting than your early life experiences.

72You fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender once convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on Charge 4.  I must thereafter place community protection as the paramount sentencing consideration.  Although here a disproportionate sentence was not urged upon me.  I believe all sentencing objectives can be appropriately met by the sentence I will impose.

73In considering this factor and issues of specific deterrence I must consider the risk you pose to the community.  In this regard I note that in 2006 you undertook four sessions of private treatment with Mr Cummins prior to being sentenced.  There is a real benefit, therefore, to have an assessment made by him then and in August of this year.  He, along with Dr Gee looked at your risk profile.

74Firstly, they both note that it is clear your life experience has caused you to become prematurely sexualised.  You have stated,

"I still haven't got the balance right about sex and intimacy and friendship.  I've still got a problem with boundaries.  I tend to sexualise everything and maybe that's because I was sexually active at a very young age, because I was sexually abused.  I know it's wrong to look at child pornography, I know it's wrong to make child pornography.  I know it's wrong to do anything with underage males that could have a sexual aspect to it.  I need counselling about this and I need to do a sex offender program.  I never want to be in prison again.  I know I shouldn't have been viewing child pornography".

75These comments show some developing insight on your part.

76Your offending in relation to the victim Archer Meeson has been described by those assessing you as situationally motivated and opportunistic.  Though that in no way minimises the seriousness of the offending.  To my mind it's a little bit more than that, rather somewhat manufactured by you.

77There is evidence according to the experts of chronicity, diversity and escalation of sexual offending, as well as evidence of psychological coercion and a breach of trust and abuse of power.  You demonstrate some evidence of attitudes supporting sexual offending and some problems with self-awareness and distorted thinking concerning sexuality and intimacy.  You reported definite current problems with stress, although that was linked to the duration of time you have already spent on remand.

78Mr Cummins applies of diagnosis of paedophilia and hebephilia to you.  He says you do not have a psychopathic personality disorder.  You attract the diagnosis of a trauma related disorder, namely an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, which is referrable to your history of childhood sexual abuse and partly your unhappiness at having been made a registered sex offender for life.

79There is a significant probability that you have developed a major depressive disorder, which is recurrent in type and of moderate severity.  And that also stems from your child sexual abuse and subsequent trauma, such as being bullied at school and at work.  In this regard, it's significant that you have only be prescribed antidepressants recently.

80You stated to the assessors, and I take these matters into account in terms of risk, that you would not have engaged in contact sexual offending with the victim, Archer.  You seem, therefore, to have little insight into that situation.  Given you have pleaded guilty to a charge of indecent act with him and to a charge of grooming for sexual offending.  As the experts note, pulling down the victim's pyjama pants and taking photographs of his buttocks clearly constitutes acts of sexual offending.  In this sense they assess you as still being in a state of partial denial, concerning the seriousness of your offending.  There are still obvious difficulties concerning your ability to accurately assess what constitutes a risk laden situation.

81Ultimately Mr Cummins assessed your risk as moderate-high.  He maintains the opinion you could receive appropriate and adequate offence specific treatment and treatment for mental health issues whilst in the community.

82Dr Gee noted you were somewhat avoidant and unable to articulate your future treatment needs.  You are unable to appreciate the underpinnings of your relapse into abhorrent behaviour.  He ultimately concluded you are a moderate to high risk.  However that you have fair to good prospects of rehabilitation with suitably tailor psychological intervention.  You are, according to him, eager to engage in treatment and be released.  I do note at the time Dr Gee assessed you nothing was known by him about the child pornography located on your devices.

83I accept in summary the experts find yours a complex picture, wherein you have a decreased capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of your sexual behaviour, while not entirely ameliorating that capacity.  This is born out of the confusion relating from abuse as a child and your experiences regarding early sexualisation and homosexuality.  This conclusion does not amount to a finding of reduced moral culpability of the Verdins type, however it does place your repeated sexual offending in its context.

84For completeness I note that your offending involve early charges of wilful and absence exposure and behaving in an offensive manner in public.  These related to charges when you were attending a toilet block to seek male sexual partners.

85Of greater importance you have previously been dealt with for three charges of sexual penetration of a child between ten and 16 years and two charges of sexual penetration of a child under ten.  Those were heard in 1994 and you were released on a bond without conviction.  You were apparently 14 or 15 at the time of the offending.  Although one of the victims was as young as six.

86You have accepted your responsibility for the offending before me at any early stage.  Your pleas of guilty entered early in relation to all charges not only saves the community time and expense, they save the victim and his mother, and
Mr Woodward, from the added stress of having to give evidence.  You received the benefit of those early pleas.

87You have also offered information to police, regarding you housemate, Isaac Whitley.  Although this did not apparently add to the information police already had, I take into account your preparedness to assist.

88Your plea of guilty and willingness to assist demonstrate your remorse.  I have received your letter and also read in the character references, wherein you are described as communicating openly and willing to be treated.  You have acknowledged the victim impact statements.

89There has been some delay in resolution of your case, through no fault of yours, and this was acknowledged by the prosecution.  The delay is relevant to your sentence as time on remand is often viewed as more difficult, in part because of the limited access to services.  I also note both experts make findings which support a conclusion that your mental health is being adversely affected by time in custody.

90The prosecution rightly conceded that your conditions, as described by the experts, would make that time more difficult.  They did not take issue that limbs five and six of Verdins were applicable.

91I have taken into account a number of cases, including those referred to by the prosecutor on the plea.  Each, of course, has less and worse serious aspects.  I do take into account the impact sexual offending can have on a child and the ripple effect on those around him or her.  That applies for both Archer and for children depicted in child pornography.

92In all the circumstances I propose to sentence you as follows.  If you could stand, please, Mr Milley.

93In relation to Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with two months to be cumulative on the base sentence.  In relation to Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and that is the base sentence.  In relation to Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment with two months cumulative.  In relation to Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to
18 months' imprisonment, with six months cumulative.  In relation to Charge 5, you are convicted and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, with six months cumulative.  In relation to Charge 6, you are convicted and sentenced to ten months' imprisonment, with six months cumulative.  In relation to Charge 7, you are convicted and sentenced 12 months' imprisonment, with eight months cumulative.

94The total effective sentence, therefore, is four and half years' imprisonment and I order that you serve three years and three months before becoming eligible for parole.

95But for your pleas of guilty the sentences I would have imposed would have resulted in an aggregate sentence of six years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and three months.

96I declare in relation to your sentence that you have already served 585 days' imprisonment.

97I note and will record on the record that you are sentenced as a serious sexual offender on Charge 5, 6 and 7.

98I propose to make the order pursuant to s.464ZF, which I notice was unopposed and the disposal order, which was also unopposed.

99If counsel would just check those figures and raise any issues.

100You can have a seat, Mr Milley.

101MS LACY:  Your Honour, I'm happy with those figures, but could I just raise one issue ‑ ‑ ‑

102HER HONOUR:  Yes.

103MS LACY:  ‑ ‑ ‑ with the disposal order.

104HER HONOUR:  Yes.

105MS LACY:  And that is that there's items on the disposal order that aren't the subject of a charge.  I'm not sure whether we have the same version.

106HER HONOUR:  I'll have one printed out because there might have been different versions.

107MS LACY:  On the version I have there's - which I - there's five items on the schedule.

108HER HONOUR:  Yes.

109MS LACY:  And item 1 and 5 are items from which the subject
of ‑ ‑ ‑

110HER HONOUR:  Not subject ‑ ‑ ‑

111MS LACY:  ‑ ‑ ‑ charge has arose.  But items 2, 3 and 4 are not.

112MS SUHREN:  Your Honour, I have to hand an amended version, if that assists.

113HER HONOUR:  All right.

114MS SUHREN:  I've got two copies here.

115HER HONOUR:  Thank you.

116MS SUHREN:  Just with those items struck out.

117HER HONOUR:  Thanks.  All right, well, I'll make it in the terms sought on the amended order.  Thank you.  And I'll make the 464ZF order in chambers.

118MS SUHREN:  Your Honour, there is the outstanding matter of costs.

119HER HONOUR:  Yes.

120MS SUHREN:  I can indicate that costs are agreed between the parties.

121HER HONOUR:  Yes, thank you.

122MS SUHREN:  The amount agreed is $4,463.

123HER HONOUR:  Sorry, say that again; 4463?

124MS SUHREN:  Yes, that's correct.  And the only other term that we'd be seeking on the costs order is that there's a stay of three months.

125HER HONOUR:  Yes.  All right, thanks very much.  I'll make that order and grant the stay.

126MS LACY:  Your Honour, your associate indicated that you also need to know who those costs need to payable to.

127HER HONOUR:  Yes.

128MS LACY:  And we believe that should be legal aid.

129HER HONOUR:  All right.  Yes, thanks very much.  All right, well, I'll make that in those terms.  All right, so Mr Milley it's been a long road for you to have the matter finalised.  But that is now finalised and now you know what the parameters of your time in custody will be.

130OFFENDER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

131HER HONOUR:  So I wish you well with it.

132OFFENDER:  Thank you.

133HER HONOUR:  Thanks very much, counsel, for your assistance.

134MS LACY:  As Your Honour pleases.

135HER HONOUR:  Thank you.

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