Director of Public Prosecutions v Nicholson

[2018] VCC 1404

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

BRETT NICHOLSON (a pseudonym)

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	31 August 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Nicholson
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 1404

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
For the Accused	Ms D. Dempsey

HIS HONOUR:

1Brett Nicholson[1], you have pleaded guilty before me on Indictment H10239727 to one charge of stalking, one charge of intentionally damaging property, one charge of intentionally causing injury, one charge of sexual assault and you have also pleaded guilty to the summary charges of Summary Charge 7, committing an indictable offence on bail and Summary Offence 8, breaching a family violence intervention order, which offences have been uplifted to be heard on this plea.  Also on Indictment No. J11258862, you pleaded guilty to two charges of contravening a family violence intervention order intending to cause harm or fear.

[1] Brett Nicholson is a pseudonym.

2The facts underlying your offending are as follows.  You and the complainant, Lucinda Goodwin[2], had been in a relationship for approximately three years.  For the last year of that relationship you were married and living together.

[2] Lucinda Goodwin is a pseudonym.

3The two of you separated in March 2016 due to infidelity and domestic violence issues and on 31 March 2016, the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court issued a final family violence intervention order against you in favour of the complainant.  The conditions of that order included conditions prohibiting family violence and any contact between yourself and the complainant.

4Between 1 November 2016 and 26 January 2017, you stalked the complainant by continually contacting her in breach of the intervention order, this offending culminating in an assault on Australia Day 2017. 

5In early November 2016, the complainant drove to her uncle's house in Reservoir to have lunch with him.  She cared for him on a regular basis and assisted by preparing meals.  She was at her uncle's house for about four hours and when she left to return to her car and noticed a piece of paper under her windscreen which she realised was a letter from you.  This is part of Charge 1 on the first indictment, stalking.  She looked around to see you and felt concerned that you were watching her.

6Then on 7 December 2016 at about 11 am, the complainant was at her home in Reservoir getting ready to leave the house to go to work and when she went to her car noticed a letter under her windscreen.  Again it was from you.  This made her feel threatened and unsure if you were watching her.  These actions also form part of Charge 1.

7On 17 December 2016, the complainant's residential property was for sale and there was a real estate inspection which you attended, signing registration of your details with the real estate agent.  These actions also comprise part of Charge 1.

8On 24 December 2016, the complainant was at her friend's house in Bell Street, Preston.  At about 9 pm while she was on the balcony at the townhouse, she heard a noise coming from below near where her car was parked.  She looked over the balcony and saw you running away from her car which when she went to was covered with eggs.  These actions also form part of Charge 1, stalking.

9Between 3 August and 30 August 2016, you breached the intervention order attending the complainant's address on one occasion, damaging her car on one occasion and being within five metres of her on two occasions.  You were arrested on 1 September 2016 and interviewed in relation to this offending.

10On 18 December 2016, the complainant saw you at the hotel Bridie O'Reilly's.  When she left three of her tyres were flat and she had to take a taxi home.  When she arrived home, you were outside her apartment building and she called police.  You were leaving when police arrived.  You were interviewed and told police that you knew you had attended the address in breach of an order.  These actions also underlie Charge 1.

11On 21 December 2016, the complainant received two Facebook messages from you saying if she did not drop the charges against, you would release personal information about her.  The complainant reported this to police.  You were arrested and made full admissions when interviewed.  These incidents comprise a number of summary charges which have been dealt with in the Magistrates' Court.

12On 6 January 2017 at 4.30 pm, the complainant was returning home from a funeral and parked her car at the back of the property.  Reaching her front door, she noticed her doormat had been disturbed, moved it and discovered another letter from you.  Your actions on this occasion also underlie Charge 1, stalking.

13On 14 January 2017, the complainant again attended at the Bridie O'Reilly Hotel in Brunswick and at some stage during the evening you approached the complainant and remained within five meters of her in breach of the intervention order.  These actions also underlie Charge 1, stalking.

14On 17 January 2017, you sent the complainant an email advising her that someone was pretending to be you on Facebook Messenger and was accessing your contacts.  You sent another email on 18 January 2016 and these emails also underlie Charge 1.

15On 25 January 2017, the complainant went with a friend to Bridie O'Reilly's Hotel for an Australian Day Eve party and at about 9.16 pm, that friend told her that she had seen you in the hotel by yourself.  During the night, the complainant went to the bar and you approached her and stood about two meters away from her, staying there for about ten minutes, the complainant taking a photograph of you in order to report the matter.  These actions underlie Summary Charge 8, breach of a family violence order.

16Shortly after at about 1.05 am on 26 January 2017, the complainant called 000 to report the breach but was advised by police they could not attend due to other more pressing areas in the matter.  She became emotional, began crying and told her friend she wanted to leave.  The complainant left Bridie O'Reilly's at about 2 am, driving her friend home before returning to her own house and once inside, had a shower and went to bed.

17At 2.53 am, the complainant heard a bang and went to investigate, seeing a black four-wheel drive and a man getting in the car.  She saw that her car had shiny bubbly substance all over it.  This substance was later determined to be industrial strength paint stripper and basically ruined the paint work on her car.  These actions underline Charge 2 on the first indictment, intentionally damaging property.

18The complainant got dressed and went outside to look at her car and as she was looking at it and touching the liquid on the car, she saw you wearing a hoodie approaching her.  You had your hand in your jacket pocket and were walking quickly towards her.  The complainant said to you, "Please don't hurt me" and started to run towards her house.

19You said that you would not, told her not to run, then ran in front of her and pushed her to the ground causing the back of her head to hit the asphalt.  The complainant started screaming as loud as she could and was overheard by neighbours who phoned 000 requesting assistance.

20You then lay on top of her with your whole body weight, telling her to, "Shoosh, stop screaming".  The complainant tried to call 000 from her mobile but you knocked it out of her hands.  The complainant was unable to move under your weight while you continued to tell her to, "Shoosh" and then told her, "You are going to get it".

21At this point, you put one hand around her neck choking her and the other over her nose and mouth.  As you were choking her, you said, "Just die" and applied more pressure.  These actions underline Charge 3 on Indictment 1, intentionally causing injury.

22The complainant was gasping for air, trying to pull your hands off her and believed she was going to die.  She thought the only way out was to play dead and go limp.  You still applied pressure to her neck but took your hand from her mouth and gave her a kiss on the lips.  These actions underline Charge 4 on the first indictment, a charge of sexual assault.

23The complainant started telling you that she missed you to try and get you to stop you choking her and you said that you missed her too and gave her another kiss on the lips.  This incident was witnessed by the neighbours who had called 000 requesting police assistance.

24At around 3.05 am, police did arrive and saw you on top of the complainant with your hands around her throat applying pressure.  You were arrested at the scene.  At the time of these offences, you were on bail for other matters and your actions underlie Summary Charge 7, committing an indictable offence whilst on bail.

25The complainant sustained the following injuries: a small tender bruise at the left back of her scalp; a tender right jaw; petechial bruising to both eyes covering both the upper and lower eye lids as well as the soft tissue surrounding both eyes which injuries I comment are typical injuries suffered by persons who have been the subject of choking or strangling.  She suffered a 1x2 centimetre bruise on her right lower jaw which was also tender and suffered bilateral upper back and shoulder tenderness.

26You were arrested and interviewed by police.  You admitted attending Bridie O'Reilly on 25 January and seeing the complainant there, and made admissions to writing and delivering the letters to her in November and December 2016.  You admitted to sending the emails but maintained that you and the complainant had continued contacting each other after the intervention order was served, saying that you were maintaining a sexual relationship and continued to communicate frequently.

27You said you had memory blanks and were unable to recall a lot of the detail about the events on 25 and 26 January and only recalled waking up in the police station.  You were then remanded in custody.

28On 28 April 2017, the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court issued a further family violence intervention order with full conditions which was served on you on 5 May 2017.

29On 27 October 2017, while still in custody, you posted two letters to the complainant from the Marngoneet Correctional Facility which went to two separate addresses.

30On 30 October 2017 at approximately 6 pm, the complainant received an envelope at her residential address.  When she opened it, she found a letter enclosed reading, "YOU WILL DIE SLUT" in capital letters.  The letter was signed "JY", the initials of the alias you had adopted when speaking to the complainant on Facebook and saying another person had accessed your account.

31That same day at about 6 pm, the complainant went to her sister's house in Reservoir.  On arrival she saw an envelope there addressed in an identical way to the one she received at her home address.  When she opened that envelope, it contained a letter which read,

"HEY, HEY, HOE, SLUT, YOU WILL DIE.  DIE.  WATCH YOUR BACK."

32This letter was also signed "JY".

33The sending of each of those letters comprises the two charges on the second indictment, the charge of breach of an intervention order intending to cause fear or harm.  You refused to be interviewed by police in relation to this offending on legal advice.

34It is worth mentioning the chronology relating to the history of this matter.  As I have stated, on 26 January 2017, you were arrested and remanded in custody and there was a filing hearing the next day on 27 January 2017.  A committal mention hearing on 21 April 2017 was adjourned for further plea discussions and on 28 April 2017, a further committal mention was adjourned to 8 May as you underwent a change of solicitor.

35On 8 May, there was a further committal mention.  The matter was resolved and proceeded by way of straight hand-up brief with a plea of guilty to the charges contained on the first indictment.

36On 26 June 2017, there was a plea hearing in the County Court.  That matter was further adjourned to 1 December 2017.  On that occasion, it was made known that the letters sent by you from gaol had been received by the complainant.  The matter was adjourned in order that forensic testing take place of those letters.  There was a further mention in the County Court on 14 December 2017.

37The matter was then listed for a plea hearing on 11 April 2018.  On that occasion, your then counsel who conducted the plea earlier was forced to relinquish her brief and the court was instructed that you planned to change your plea of guilty.  There were further mentions in this matter on 19 June and 18 July 2018 and then again on 17 August 2018.

38During those mentions, it was confirmed that further charges had been laid against you; fingerprint evidence having discovered material linking you to both letters.  I should add that those letters were written in a capital-letter style clearly using a ruler or some similar implement in order to disguise the writing.

39It was indicated finally on 17 August 2018 that you intended to plead guilty to the charges and arrangements were made for all charges including the charges on the second indictment to be heard together.

40The maximum penalty for stalking is ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for damaging property is ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for intentionally causing injury is ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for sexual assault is ten years' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for committing an indictable offence whilst on bail is 30 penalty units or three months' imprisonment.  The maximum penalty for contravening a family violence intervention order intending to cause fear is five years' imprisonment or 600 penalty units or both.  The maximum penalty for contravening a family violence intervention order is 240 penalty units and/or two years' imprisonment.

41The matters that I have outlined as being dealt with in the Heidelberg Magistrates' Court were dealt with on 1 August 2017 and you were sentenced to a term of one month imprisonment.  You have remained in custody since your arrest on 26 January 2017.

42I now turn to your personal history.

43You are now 49 years of age and the second eldest of four brothers born to your parents.  One brother owns a restaurant, one brother works as a heavy equipment high supplier and one brother works in Brisbane.

44You told psychologist, Pamela Matthews, whose report dated 24 November 2017 was tendered on the plea, that you had no sad memories of your childhood.  You grew up in Preston and were educated at primary and secondary levels in the catholic school system.  You apparently disliked school and left at age 15.

45You took up employment at a pizza restaurant in Carlton, then worked for a year on Hamilton Island.  You then worked at a second pizza restaurant in Sydney Road, Brunswick for five years, eventually buying out that business and running your own restaurant for 14 years, which business was liquidated in 2012.

46You then worked as a chef at the Italian Club restaurant, which employment you lost because of drinking on the job, then worked for La Mama Fish restaurant in Essendon Fields until an episode of heart failure in May 2016.  Following this, you remained on Centrelink benefits.

47You married your ex-wife, Nina, in 1998.  You were together for 21 years and have an 18-year old son, Matthew.  The marriage fell apart in the context of your heavy drinking causing blackouts and aggression and extramarital affairs.  You clearly over the years developed an alcohol addiction.  You told Ms Matthews that by 2016, you were drinking five litres of cheap cask wine daily.

48Your counsel informed me you grew up in a family with a culture of drinking.  You were given your first alcoholic drink by your grandfather when you were 12 and you recall your father drank a bottle of beer each night after work.

49You told Ms Matthews you were an occasional binge drinker up to 1998 when you bought your restaurant.  The alcohol then was, according to you, free and you also went into a wine making venture with a friend.

50In the restaurant, you eventually began drinking at 9 am until you blacked out and continued drinking after you had come home.  You told Ms Matthews that in the last two years of your business, you were drinking three bottles of Chivas Regal per week and three bottles of fine wine and 24 cans of beer daily.

51This level of drinking continued in the ten years leading up to your incarceration in January 2017 despite your heart problems in 2016.  You do appear also to have developed a gambling problem involving horse and greyhound racing and then poker machines until 2012.

52Your drinking resulted in the development of cardiomyopathy.  You suffer irregular heartbeats and are medicated for this.  You also have cirrhosis of the liver for which you receive medication.  You suffered a second heart failure incident whilst in custody in July last year.

53You reported to Ms Matthews a history of depression for which you have never been treated and appear to have been self-medicating for many years via your alcohol abuse.  You apparently tried to overdose on steroids following your heart failure incident in 2016.

54You told Ms Matthews that you and the complainant had continued your relationship and that you had no recollection of the attack upon her on 26 January 2017.  Ultimately it was settled that what connection there was between you and the complainant after May 2016 involved her contacting you to wish you, "Happy birthday", "Happy Christmas", and that she made a visit to you in hospital.

55Unsurprisingly, Ms Matthews diagnosed you as suffering a severe alcohol use disorder.  She believed,

"Your offending arose out of the demise of your marriage to the complainant and subsequent heart failure and believed that these incidents may have suggested not only a mixture of a desire to reconcile with the - may have suggested not only a mixture of desire to reconcile with the complainant with resentment towards Callum Nicholson[3] but also last resort thinking over the remainder of 2016 ending with the events of January 26, 2017."

[3] Callum Nicholson is a pseudonym.

56Her then view was that the risk of reoffending against the complainant was low - but that there could be a high risk of reoffending against any future partner unless the underlying factors, being your drinking and depression, are not addressed.

57This report was clearly written in ignorance of your offending in October 2017.  Your counsel did submit that again this offending was committed in the context of the aftermath of yet another heart failure episode where you felt hopeless and again it would seem "last resort thinking".

58You have been held at Marngoneet Correctional Centre where you work five days in the light building industry there.  You attend Alcoholics Anonymous and have completed a drug and alcohol and depression course.  I accept that as a remand prisoner, the rehabilitative courses open to you are limited and that I understand that you have put your name down for a large number of courses for which you have yet to be accepted.

59You are visited regularly by your family including recently your 18-year old son from whom you had been estranged following the demise of your marriage to his mother.  You plan to live with your own mother on release and I accept that as a skilled and highly experienced chef, your prospects of employment must be seen as favourable.

60However, despite these protective factors, the concerns of this court must primarily revolve around the seriousness of your offending and protection of the community.  It was conceded by your counsel, Ms Dempsey, in a helpful and thorough plea that the only appropriate response to your offending was a term of imprisonment to be immediately served.

61She submitted that the gravity of the incidents underlying the stalking charge varied greatly and that much of the offending occurred in the context of your alcoholism and heart failure problems and that to truly ensure the problems underlying that offending, you needed to be properly treated in a way that could not be expected in gaol.

62She further submitted that any sentence imposed should be less rather than more for these reasons and that the supervision of parole was a particularly valuable tool in that regard.

63Unfortunately, I cannot agree with these submissions.  This is not the first time you have offended in this way against a former partner who has rejected you.  I refer to the 2013 Community Corrections Order on which you were placed partly for contravention of a family violence order which contained conditions that you be treated for alcohol addiction.

64You then appeared before the Magistrates' Court three months later on a charge of unlawful assault for which you received a non-conviction adjournment with the condition you complete a men's behavioural change program.

65Both these charges involved offending against your former wife, you apparently attacking her by placing your hands on her throat and you also breaching the family violence intervention order she had taken out against you, by an attempt to visit her premises at night.

66Despite these rehabilitative measures imposed and apparently undertaken by you, you continued to against offend the complainant in a protracted, violent and terrifying way, culminating not only in the violence you perpetrated on her on 26 January 2017 but then gravely aggravated by the two appalling menacing letters you sent to her.

67You disguised your handwriting no doubt to escape detection but made it perfectly clear (as the prosecution in my view correctly submitted) to her who the sender was by the use of initials of the alias you had assumed when earlier breaching a family intervention order.

68These may have been written in the context of despair of your own predicament but they nevertheless clearly indicated a violent and vindictive attitude towards the complainant which had continued on, for her rejection of you.  It is clear that, understandably, she remains terrified of you and for good reason.

69Over the period of time in which these matters have been before the courts, the complainant has completed two victim impact statements.  Of 26 January she stated that this was a night that she lost her identity in the most horrific way stating,

"That was the night my entire world was shaken.  I never thought the man I loved, trusted and thought I would spend the rest of my life with would want me dead."

70She spoke of how you stalked her and harassed her and her friends.  She stated that as a result,

"I have anxiety attacks every single day.  I was constantly reporting everything he did to me to the Reservoir and Preston police station.  He has changed the person I was.  I was confident, carefree and happy."

71She stated that she had lost her dignity, confidence and self-respect and that her trust in people had vanished.  She stated also,

"I'm unable to walk anywhere freely without constantly looking over my shoulder.  I always feel unsafe and scared."

72The complainant said that she continued to suffer from extreme insomnia, fatigue, headaches, anxiety and memory loss.

73In her second victim impact statement compiled after the reception of the letters you sent her, she stated that,

"Since receiving the letters in the mail, I have not felt safe and I'm always looking over my shoulder and scared someone is following me.  I fear for my life."

74She said that she suffers with severe anxiety, still has trouble sleeping, trouble getting out of bed, has had to give up study, struggles to go to the gym or work, can no longer afford on Centrelink to maintain her own premises and now lives from house to house with family and friends."

75She was receiving Austudy but due to leaving her course, the payments were cut.  She stated,

"I cannot see a future for myself.  I do not have the strength to go and look for a job, therefore I cannot move in my life as a normal person."

76She stated that she has lost many friends and family because of her continuing depression and is too traumatised to contemplate forming a relationship with another man.  I accept that your actions have caused an extreme and ongoing condition of depression, anxiety and despair in the complainant.

77These letters were not written under the disinhibiting influence of alcohol but were deliberate messages not only designed to place the complainant in great fear but in my view a real indication that you have maintained your rage against her and a desire to hurt her in a grievous way albeit emotionally.

78In my view, your actions against the complainant are serious examples of the crimes with which you were charged.  In particular, your actions of October 2017 mean that I cannot regard your prospects of rehabilitation with anything other than grave misgivings.  In my view, protection of the community, specifically the complainant, dominate the sentencing exercise before me.

79Importantly, it is clear given the terrible prevalence of domestic violence against women in our community and in the wake of the Royal Commission into Domestic Violence that the courts are expected to respond sternly to the perpetrators of domestic violence as a means of making it clear behaviours such as yours will not be tolerated.

80Indeed, the Court of Criminal Appeal has made this perfectly clear in its own decisions.  In other words, general deterrence, denunciation of your conduct and punishment for it also loom large on the sentencing landscape.

81Further, specific deterrence, that is a sentence designed to deter you from further offending in this way, is also warranted.  The fact that you had been charged and denied bail was insufficient for you to curb your violence towards the complainant is, I have said, extremely concerning and undermines the confidence this court could have that you no longer pose a threat to her on your release from custody.

82Indeed, your response to the discovery of this later offending was to indicate a change of plea for a period of time.  For all these reasons, in my view, condign punishment is called for in this case.

83I take into account your plea of guilty for which you will receive the utilitarian benefit having saved the community the time and expense of a trial and the complainant the trauma of giving evidence and enduring cross-examination.  I also note that the heart condition from which you suffer and accept that it makes imprisonment somewhat more onerous for you to bear than the average prisoner.

84However, as I have said, in all the circumstances, this is serious, protracted and violent offending and I therefore sentence you as follows.  Could you stand up please, sir?

85On Indictment H10239727, Charge 1, stalking, you are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.

86Charge 2, damaging property, you are sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.

87Charge 3, intentionally causing injury, you are sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

88Charge 4, sexual assault, you are sentenced to ten months' imprisonment

89Summary Offence 7, committing an indictable offence on bail, you are sentenced to one month's imprisonment.

90Charge 8, breaching a family violence intervention order, you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

91On Indictment J11258862, on each of those charges of contravening a family violence intervention order intending to cause harm or fear, you are sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.

92The base sentence will be the sentence imposed on Charge 3 on Indictment H10239727, that is three years.

93I order that six months of Charge 1 on that indictment, nine months of Charge 2 on that indictment, three months of Charge 4 on that indictment, two months of Summary Offence 8 and eight months of each of the sentences imposed on Indictment J11258862 be served cumulatively to this sentence imposed on the base charge and with each other giving a total effective sentence of six years.

94I order that you serve four years before becoming eligible for parole.

95Have a seat please, sir.

96What is the pre-sentence detention?

97MS DEMPSEY:  It is 552.

98MS DUCKETT:  It is 552.

99HER HONOUR:  I declare that 552 days of this sentence have already been served.  Now, I need - do you have the orders that you want me to sign please?

100MS DUCKETT:  I do indeed, Your Honour.

101HER HONOUR:  Pursuant to s.6AAA, I declare that had you not pleaded guilty, I would have sentenced you a term of seven years and order you serve a minimum term of five years.  In my view, the prosecution case against you in relation to each indictment was a strong one.  Thank you.

102MS DUCKETT:  And Your Honour at the same time the - we were advised by your associate that the original victim impact ‑ ‑ ‑

103HER HONOUR:  Did not have a CO number.

104MS DUCKETT:  Well, the original indictment would need to have its CO number put on by Ms Evans so if I could seek leave to have that amendment made to that indictment and ‑ ‑ ‑

105HER HONOUR:  Now, in relation to the alcohol exclusion order, there seems to be some sense in my view in terms of what Ms Dempsey submitted insofar as this man's future employment is concerned and it would seem to me there should be an exemption if he is employed in premises where alcohol is served.

106MS DUCKETT:  And my understanding is that sub-s.(a) that allows for that to be ‑ ‑ ‑

107HER HONOUR:  Well, perhaps an order could reframed.

108MS DUCKETT:  Yes.

109HER HONOUR:  And I will sign that.  And I think there is also something in relation to family occasions.

110MS DUCKETT:  Yes.

111HER HONOUR:  So if you could work out perhaps, Ms Dempsey, the wording of that with Ms Duckett in relation to that, I will sign that order at a later stage.  I will sign the exposal order.  The 31st is it not?

112MS DUCKETT:  It is the 31st, Your Honour.  Yes.

113HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  I am also signing the - ordering that compensation in the sum of $6,972.55 be paid by the accused man to the complainant.  Yes.  Thank you.  I will also return - I think I have got them, the certificates to Mr Darcy, that you handed ‑ ‑ ‑

114MS DUCKETT:  And Your Honour if I could file the original of that victim impact statement that was read to the court today by the complainant.

115HER HONOUR:  Yes.  Thank you.  I will return the alcohol exclusion order.

116MS DUCKETT:  Yes, of course.  I have those amendments made to allow for those two circumstances.

117HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  So that goes back to Ms Dempsey and that goes back to Ms Duckett.  Is there anything else that I need to attend to?

118MS DEMPSEY:  There was one amendment actually - I think that Your Honour has mentioned that the matter in Heidelberg heard on 1 August 2017.  It was actually 18 January 2018 for the record.

119HER HONOUR:  I am sorry.  18 January 2018.  Thank you very much for that, Ms Duckett.  Thank you.  We will adjourn to 9.30 on Monday morning.  Thank you very much.  Perhaps you can take the prisoner down, thank you, before I leave the Bench.  Again, I thank counsel for their assistance in this matter.

120MS DUCKETT:  Thank you, Your Honour.

121HER HONOUR:  Thank you.

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