Director of Public Prosecutions v O'Donnell
[2025] VCC 895
•27 June 2025
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-24-01330
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| DANIEL O'DONNELL |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEMPSEY | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 28 May 2025, 18 June 2025 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 27 June 2025 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v O’Donnell | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2025] VCC 895 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW - Sentencing
Catchwords: Plea of guilty – Arson – Significant damage to property – Restitution – Substantial mental health considerations – Available support services – All limbs of Verdins enlivened.
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act1958 (Vic), Sentencing Act1991 (Vic)
Cases Cited:Anderson v The Queen; Smith v The Queen [2019] VSCA 42, Boulton v The Queen (2014) VR 308, DPP v Milson [2019] VSCA 55, R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269
Sentence: TES: 4 months imprisonment followed by release on a two-year CCO with judicial monitoring.
PSD: 124 days.
s. 6AAA: 12 months imprisonment in combination with a 3 year CCO.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms A. Liantzakis | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr J. MiIler | Stephen Peterson Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
INTRODUCTION
1.Daniel O’Donnell, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal damage by fire (arson).[1] The maximum penalty for that offence is 15 years' imprisonment.
[1] Section 197 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic).
2.At the time of the offending, you were living in Nyora. Your neighbour, Ms Michelle Mattatia (who you had known for some 18 years), lived across the road in a single storey dwelling.[2] I pause to inform the parties that the precise addresses will be redacted for publication purposes.
[2] The addresses have been redacted for publication.
3.On 18 February 2024, you purposefully burnt her house down to the point it was uninhabitable. The damage was estimated as more than $100,000, but there is more than a financial loss consequent upon your offending; there has been real trauma caused to the victim because of it.
4.You were 45 years of age at the time of the offending. You have a tragic, 20-year history of treatment resistant schizophrenia. You are a paraplegic following an unsuccessful suicide attempt more than a decade ago. You have delusional beliefs, and it seems have had beliefs of that kind about your neighbour and her house. You made frank admissions and were remanded in custody for about four months before being bailed.
5.Your counsel submitted that you ought not be returned to custody, and that the sentence imposed should now involve a lengthy period 4of supervision in the community. In mitigation of sentence the following were relied upon: your profoundly poor mental health which has endured for decades, your early plea of guilty, your lack of prior history (or subsequent matters for that matter) and prospects of restitution being made in full.
6.The Crown, quite properly in my view, agree that there are compelling reasons not to return you to custody in the unique circumstances of this case, should you be able to be supervised and treated in the community. Such circumstances would compel a different course to be taken than imposing a head sentence and non-parole period.
7.I will impose a combination sentence. A suitably structured CCO which addresses risks of antisocial behaviour or disturbing behaviour and ensures you receive treatment and monitoring, in conjunction with time served being 124 days, meets all sentencing objectives in this case.
OFFENDING [3]
[3]Taken from SPO, Exhibit A.
BACKGROUND / CONTEXT TO
8.Ms Mattatia, your neighbour, recalls that you had become increasingly aggressive and verbally abusive towards her in the months leading up to the offending.
9.On 13 November 2023, that is say about two months before the offending, Ms Mattatia, filmed you on her mobile phone. She was walking down her driveway towards her car, and you were threatening to burn her house down from your driveway across the road. In fact, apparently it can be seen in the footage you calling her a number of derogatory names and saying: 'your house is gonna be burning cunt' and 'your house is burning, that house is burning down'.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE OFFENDING
10.After yet another period of very poor mental health (including another suicide attempt on Thursday, 18 January 2024, you were discharged from the John Cade psychiatric unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after a 10-day impatient admission. You returned home. You would later tell police that you had started to feel 'really peculiar' on the way home.[4]
[4] Record of Interview, see Transcript of Record of Interview, Q/A 38.
11.At 6.30 pm that same evening, you called Triple 0 and asked for paramedics to attend. You said that you were losing your mind. Paramedics arrived just before 7.00 pm and observed you sitting in your wheelchair on the deck outside the back door. You were rolling a cigarette. On assessment, your vital signs were found to be normal, and you did not report any pain. You appeared to be calm and quiet, and told paramedics that you were feeling all right, and they left a short time after.
12.You would later tell police that an 'overwhelming feeling set in' after those paramedics had left, expressed this way:
… I'm in so much rage. I just scream to my lungs out loud, screaming at the top of my voice from the paranoia that was going through my body from whatever it was. And I just cracked it …
13.At about 7.30 pm, you left home, taking a 9 kilogram gas cylinder from your driveway. There was a blow torch affixed to the cylinder. At the time, you intended to set fire to the house in Nyora.
14.The gas cylinder had been left in the driveway by repairmen some months earlier and you had apparently been planning to set fire to the house for a period of time. You knew Ms Mattatia lived in the house and did not like her. You also thought that the house was evil and that whoever was associated with the house was somehow 'bad news'.[5]
[5] Ibid, Q/A 38, 48, 52 and 72.
15.You approached the house in your wheelchair. Ms Mattatia was not home, having met a friend at a nearby property. You turned the blow torch on and attempted to set fire to a green pillar, which supported a large veranda and wrapped around the front of the house. You would later tell police:
“I proceeded to burn the post … one of the green posts … It wouldn't burn enough so I had to fiddle with the gauge. I turned it up more and it came out hotter, by then it was really cooking.”[6]
[6] Ibid, Q/A 38.
16.You saw two large weed trimmers on the front porch of the property, and you tried to set light to those weed trimmers by using the gas cylinder and blow torch but would later recall that they melted a little bit. You then tried to set fire to another green pillar at the front of the house and a chair and pair of sneakers found nearby.
17.You approached the front of the house and concentrated the heat from the blow torch onto the right hand side of the front door, watching as flames spread from the door into the house, setting fire to the curtains and other items and ultimately engulfing the front entrance way in fire.[7] You continued to direct the heat from the blow torch towards the right hand side of the front door until you thought that the house was 'sufficiently alight' and the gas cylinder either ran out of gas or 'went out' by itself. You then went back to your house on the other side of the road, taking the gas cylinder and blow torch with you.
[7] Ibid.
18.At 7.42 pm that evening, while you were still at the address in Nyora, a neighbour from a nearby property contacted Triple 0 to report the fire. She said that she could see orange flames coming from the house and that it was making her nervous. She said that she had seen her neighbour (you) go to the house in a wheelchair with a gas bottle, and she had seen you set fire to the house.[8]
[8] Depositions, Exhibit 6, 000 call from witness Ellie Spore.
19.Firefighters from the Country Fire Authority were dispatched and arrived shortly thereafter. They commenced extinguishing the fire.
20.The victim, Ms Mattatia, who was with a friend at a nearby property and would later recall that her neighbour had screamed out to her about the fire. She did not believe her neighbour, but a second neighbour soon started to scream out about the fire as well. Ms Mattatia grew worried because she had left her dog alone in the house and she quickly went back and would later recall:
“I parked behind the fire truck, and I ran up to the front past all the fire brigade and I called my dog. My dog came flying out and jumped straight into my arms. The fireys were squirting water in the front windows. I then just sat down in my driveway and started crying. I saw that the front door and windows were gone and the ceiling in the front was gone and there was water and smoke everywhere in the house.”[9]
[9] Depositions, Statement of Michelle Sarah Mattatia dated 19 January 2024, Depositions, page 14.
INVESTIGATION, ARREST AND INTERVIEW
21.At about 8.21 pm, members from Victoria Police arrived at the address in Nyora and established a crime scene. Constable Sanders recalls that he was approached by a female who lived nearby who told him that you might have started the fire.[10] First Constable Hill recalls that he was approached by a different female who also lived nearby who told him that she had seen you approach the house with a gas cylinder just before the house was set alight.[11] I imagine you were quite distinctive and suspicious. You were not disguised, and you were not acting furtively.
[10] Depositions, Statement of Constable Troy Sanders dated 27 April 2024, page 25.
[11] Depositions, Statement of First Constable Josh Hill dated 1 April 2024, page 31.
22.You were so obviously identified as a person of interest very early. At about 8.45 pm that evening, members of Victoria Police attended your home in Nyora and found you in bed, with your wheelchair nearby. First Constable Hill cautioned you and informed you of your rights, which you seemed to understand.
23.First Constable Hill asked you about the fire at the address in Nyora and you said that you had lit it with a torch and gas bottle. You said that the gas bottle was at the back of your house. You said that you knew Ms Mattatia lived in the house but did not think that she was home when you lit the fire because her car was not there then. You said you had planned to burn the house down for 'ages' as a form of 'revenge'[12] and you then went on to tell police that you had soiled yourself.[13]
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
24.You were placed under arrest and subsequently transported to the Wonthaggi Hospital by ambulance where you were showered, and your clothes were changed. You were at the hospital for just under two hours before being conveyed to the police station for interview.
25.Police did in fact locate the gas cylinder and blow torch on the deck.[14]
[14]Depositions, statement of Detective Senior Constable Varli Blake, page 38.
26.At about 9.30 pm that evening, once the fire had been extinguished and the property had been deemed safe for re-entry, Senior Constable Sheahan escorted Ms Mattatia through the house to collect some of her property. He observed extensive damage to the house caused by fire, smoke and water, and thought that the house looked unfit for human habitation.[15]
[15] Depositions, statement of Senior Constable Luke Sheahan dated 5 April 2024, page 28.
27.The next day, Forensic Officer, Mr John Kelleher, attended the address to survey the damage caused by the fire. He would later opine that several fires had been set to the house:
a)two timber veranda posts had bands of burning at about one and a half meters above ground level;
b)two line trimmers on the southern side of the front steps, a chair and a table had been burnt;
c)there had been a fire at the base of the front door, which had spread to a nearby umbrella and to timber lining boards in the front entrance hallway.[16]
[16] Depositions, statement of John Desmond Kelleher dated 25 January 2024, page 17.
28.The fire at the front door caused severe and extensive damage to the hallway. The wall lining boards were burnt, as were the other timber fittings and fixtures. The wall and ceiling plaster was damaged, and the fire had spread into the roof space. The extent and spread of the fire damage to the roof was not clear, but there was heat and smoke damage in both the lounge room and the family room areas. Smoke and minor heat damage extended throughout most of the house.[17]
[17] Ibid
29.The offending had made your victim fear for her life. Her home was not insured, and she could not live in it because of the damage. She did not know what she was going to do or where she was going to live.[18] Over the coming months, she sought quotes for the plastering, tiling, joinery, carpeting, and electrical work that she thought necessary to repair the damage the figure caused. The aggregate dollar value of the structural repair work alone quoted to her was in excess of $116,000.[19]
[18] Depositions, Statement of Michelle Sarah Mattatia dated 19 January 2024, Depositions, page 14.
[19] Depositions, quotes for repair work, pages 63 to 71.
30.At 1.30 am on 19 January 2024, you participated in a recorded interview at the Wonthaggi police station with Detective Blake and her corroborator, First Constable Hill. An independent third person was also present.
31.During that interview, you admitted to lighting the fire at the Nyora address, saying
a)you had felt really strange and peculiar earlier in that day;[20]
b)you had 'cracked it' and taken a gas cylinder to the house with the intention of setting fire to it;[21]
c)you had been planning to burn the house down for a long time;
d)that you were shaking with 'anger and emotional distress' when you set fire to the house;[22]
e)you called Triple 0 and reported the fire when you got back home;[23]
f)you planned to burn the house down because whoever associates with the house is bad news and has done 'disastrous damage' to you and your home;[24]
g)that the house was evil and that those associated with the house were disturbed human beings who have a vendetta against your life;[25]
h)that the complainant, the victim, is a thief and a liar.[26]
[20] Depositions, Record of Interview, see Transcript of Record of Interview, Q/A 38.
[21] Ibid
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid, Q/A 48 and this is followed by a wide variety of bizarre and/or conspiratorial beliefs and ideas, including, selecting one at random, this at Q57 ‘And I feel everything. I hear everything. I see everything. But to them, they're the ones who have X-ray vision, not me. I can't see through walls, I'm not the invisible man, I'm always here’.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Ibid, Q/A 51.
32.That account is quite matter of fact, but that needs to be seen in the context of your still disturbed mental state. It lends weight to the fact these strange beliefs were actually held by you, given what you say is so unfiltered and plainly delusional.
33.On 25 January 2024, members from Victoria Police attended your address and executed a warrant. They seized CCTV footage from the address that depicts you leaving home with the gas cylinder, just before the fire started. You can be seen in the footage crossing the road in the wheelchair, with the gas cylinder.[27]
[27] Depositions, statement of Detective Senior Constable Varli Blake, page 38.
VICTIM IMPACT [28]
[28]Exhibit B VIS of 19 September 2024 (which was amended to remove the seeking of restitution)
34.I have touched on the victim impact earlier. As I said, the victim feared for her life and her home was not insured and is now uninhabitable due to the damage. The dollar cost to repair the damage is significant, but aside from the financial impact of the offending, Ms Mattatia notes that she is left without a permanent residence. She has lost her cherished personal belongings within the home, and the emotional impact upon her has been profound. Her sense of safety and security has been shattered.
35.Now, still more than 18 months after the offending, she is still displaced. She cannot pay for the repairs. She effectively 'couch surfs'.
36.Because of your severe mental illness, your affairs are managed by Court Funds. There are negotiations between legal representatives to place the victim back in the position she was prior to the offending (in so far as money could ever do that).
CASE HISTORY
37.The following is a chronology of the proceedings in this matter:
DATE EVENT 18 January 2024 Date of offending and arrest 19 January 2024 Date of interview 19 January 2024
22 January 2024
31 January 2024
14 February 2024Summary mentions at Wonthaggi Magistrates' Court
13 March 2024 Summary mention at which the matter is listed for a Filing Hearing. 25 March 2024 Filing Hearing at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court 16 May 2024 Bail Application Hearing at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court 20 May 2024 Bail Application granted at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court
(123 days PSD)21 June 2024 Committal Mention at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court 9 August 2024 Committal Mention at Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court.
Mr O’Donnell indicates a plea of guilty to the charge.28 October 2024 Plea Hearing at the Melbourne County Court. 28 May 2025 Plea hearing
Adjourned to permit clarification if fit to plead18 June 2025 Plea hearing 27 June 2025 Sentence
MATTERS PERSONAL TO THE ACCUSED
BACKGROUND
38.You are a 46-year-old man living with paraplegia and treatment-resistant schizophrenia in supported accommodation in Berwick. This is a rental property. You own the home in Nyora but cannot return there. You wish to sell that home and hopefully relocate permanently in Berwick.
39.You are the eldest of four children to parents who divorced when you were 13. You still seem to enjoy support of parents, as your father accompanied you to both the appointment for the CCO, the earlier plea and also today.
40.You have a minimal work history due to your mental illnesses. You have never married and have no children.
41.You have no relevant prior history, admitting only one shoplifting matter in 1996 and two driving matters now more than 15 years ago.
42.You have been on bail since May 2024, with conditions – not attend within
20 kilometres of Nyora, to live at Centre Road, Berwick, to notify the informant of any change of address, to comply with CISP and any intervention order in place and obey all directions of treating health professionals. You have not breached bail since you were released.HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH
43.There are aspects to the offending that raise alarm bells as to your mental state. That you were released from a psychiatric hospital on the very day you offended being one of them. The attribution of 'evil' qualities to the house and its occupant only adds to that alarm.
44.You have a history of mental illness dating back to 1995. You have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
45.You have endured numerous inpatient admissions (at least 20 but probably many, many more), episodes of suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts.
46.You required the use of a wheelchair after becoming paraplegic in a suicide attempt when you absconded from an involuntary admission to an acute psychiatric ward at Dandenong Hospital in late 2013. You jumped from a bridge.[29]
[29]It should be noted that you suffer from a number of physical issues beyond the use of your lower limbs as a result of this.
DR BEST
47.Psychiatrist, Dr Fiona Best, initially spoke to you in September 2024, and again in January 2025, at which time she prepared a report. She was concerned about your understanding of the process and your fitness to plead.[30] She revised her view about your fitness more recently, and by way of addendum report dated 8 June 2025,[31] confirmed that you are indeed fit to plead.
[30] Exhibit 2 – Psychiatric report of Dr Fiona Best dated 29 January 2025.
[31] Exhibit 8 – Addendum letter of Dr Fiona Best dated 8 June 2025.
48.She described your past treatment of schizophrenia as including ECT therapy and clozapine, a drug reserved for treatment-resistant conditions.
49.Your current treatment consists of zuclopenthixol, a long-lasting injectable anti-psychotic, and daily quetiapine. You need medication for a number of other conditions not related to mental health, including a statin, vitamins, and coloxyl.
50.It would appear that you had been labouring under serious and persistent persecutory delusional beliefs about your neighbours in the months leading up to the offending.
51.You were hospitalised for a week after a suicide attempt related to those delusions. This offending as I said occurred on the very day of your discharge from hospital.[32]
[32] Exhibit 5 – RMH discharge summary dated January 2024.
52.Dr Best sets out some of the beliefs you were ruminating about while you were in hospital:
a)witches and warlocks;
b)poisoning of your water;
c)people trying to kill you
53.The prosecution opening for plea sets out at length what you said to police about your state of mind leading up to and during the arson.
54.Dr Best opines that at the time of the offending:
…it is likely that Mr O'Donnell's mental illness impacted on his ability to think clearly, exercise good judgment and think rationally. Although he had received depot antipsychotic medication the day before discharge, his treatment resistant illness is such that residual symptoms of psychosis are present and these are likely to have impacted on his decision making at the time of the alleged offending. Mr. O'Donnell has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. His impaired mental functioning as a consequence of his mental health difficulties means that a custodial sentence will weigh more heavily on him than it would on an individual without those difficulties. He also has physical disabilities, including daily dressings for chronic pressure wounds to his feet and sacrum, a suprapubic urinary catheter, and laxative medication to open his bowels (and then wash afterwards). He is supported by NDIS workers to carry out functional and personal activities of daily living. He is likely to be vulnerable in prison without support and risk of psychotic and depressive relapse would increase. In custody, Mr. O'Donnell's mental health may decline, particularly if there are interruptions to treatment and he relapses into psychosis and/or risk of suicide increases.
55.I deal later with the application of the principle of Verdins in due course.
NDIS [33]
[33]Exhibits 3 – Letter of professional service from Grace professional services dated 30 January 2025 and Exhibit 4 – Grace professional Services – Court letter dated 26 May 2025.
56.Since 2021 you are the recipient of a raft of professional services under the NDIS, under the auspices especially of the Grace Professional Services organization and those services include nursing, occupational therapy, personal care, social support, daily support, a mental health nurse, pain manager and support coordinator. It gives one just a sense of how high your needs really are.
57.You are well supported in Berwick. I am encouraged by the reference to seeking out prosocial goals and the ongoing support already in place.
58.The NDIS package will exist until at least November 2025, which is then presumably the subject of ongoing assessment and review.
59.I note that your support worker, Anthony Pilepish, attended your plea, and at risk of repetition, as did you father and uncle
MATTERS OF SENTENCING PRINCIPLE
ARSON GENERALLY
60.Arson is a charge that covers a significant and great spectrum of offending. Quantum of damage is one consideration, and another is the type of property damaged by the fire.
61.Arson is clearly a serious crime. It may be committed in a variety of ways and be committed for a variety of reasons, including: revenge, to conceal the commission of other offences, as an act of vandalism or for financial gain. It is often the case that the crime is associated with a mental disturbance. It is often (but not here) a difficult crime to detect, and it is thought to be an offence calling for a deterrent sentence and hence a sentence of imprisonment.[34]
[34] Anderson v The Queen; Smith v The Queen [2019] VSCA 42 at [70]-[71]
62.I have had regard to sentencing practices (by reference to sentencing statistics[35] and the JCV case collection),[36] which are not a controlling factor in my decision by any means.
[35] SAcStat snapshot 287 (2018-19) to 2022-23)
[36] JCV case collection at 6.11 Arson and causing a bushfire
63.They do not set a numerical guidepost on the upper or lower limits of the appropriate sentence in any event.
64.Given your unique mental health profile, it was hard to find any truly comparable cases in any event.
CHARACTERISATION OF THIS OFFENCE [37]
[37]Exhibit 1 – Defence submissions at [13]-[17], Exhibit A – Crown submissions at [6]
65.This was clearly a serious version of the offence by virtue of it being on a residential dwelling.
Extent of damage
66.Mr Kelleher opined that several fires had been set to the house. The fire at the front door caused severe and extensive damage to the hallway. The walls and ceilings were damaged, and the fire spread into the roof space. There was heat and smoke damage to the lounge and family room areas, and minor damage extended throughout the remainder of the house. As a result of the fire, in excess of $116,000 worth of damage was caused to the property. Photos that were tendered demonstrate it is simply gutted.[38]
[38] Exhibit C – 13 Photographs found in Depositions commencing page 72.
Range and severity of risks posed by the damage
67.Fortunately, the victim was not home at the time of the fire. The lighting of a fire in a residential street is an inherently dangerous act carrying with it a risk of the fire spreading. Residents of neighbouring properties were home at the time, and they observed the fire and telephoned police.
68.The effect on the resident will be more significant than what would be true for another types of buildings.
69.The offending did not put the resident of the home at risk of death or injury. Ms Mattatia was not at the address, thankfully, at the time of the fire.
70.The damage to the dwelling was substantial, but the damage alone in a structural nature would be more than $116,000. As I said, it covers many different tradespeople to return the house to its previous condition, if it can be done. That dollar amount does not cover the loss of other items in the house.
Method of causing damage
71.The fire was lit with a blow torch and a gas cylinder. There were several sources of ignition. I add to that, how you yourself did not set yourself on fire is nothing short of miraculous.
Degree of planning and purpose
72.You told police you had planned to set fire to the victim's home for a long time as you did not get along with her and thought the house was evil and did it for 'revenge'. You were persistent in your efforts. With the use of a blow torch, you attempted to set fire to two pillars supporting a veranda at the front of the property, weed trimmers on the porch, a chair and sneakers, although they did not catch fire sufficiently. You then used the blow torch on the front door, observing the flames enter the house and engulf the front entrance until the gas cylinder had run dry.
VERDINS
73.It is submitted that you were suffering a 'mental disorder or abnormality' or 'impaired mental functioning' at the time these offences were committed which falls within the scope of 'the wide variety of impaired mental functioning or conditions' as contemplated by the leading judgment in R v Verdins.[39] In that case, the Court of Appeal said impaired mental functioning, whether temporary or permanent ('the condition or impairment'), is relevant to sentencing, and outlined six ways in which it could be used.
[39] (2007) 16 VR 269.
Do you have a mental condition?
74.Dr Best opines that you have schizophrenia, which is enduring and treatment resistant. Your insight into his diagnosis is poor and your symptoms have worsened over time. Dr Best opines that the diagnosis of schizophrenia here is in partial remission.
75.Dr Best further notes a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and ADHD at age 17 which was later thought to be a prodrome symptoms for schizophrenia.[40]
[40] She doesn’t rule out an ABI either, noting it is ‘probable’.
If the accused has a mental condition, how is it to be taken into account
Limb 1: The condition may reduce the moral culpability.
76.It is submitted, and I accept, the finding of Dr Best that I have referred to above, which enlivens this limb, and that your moral culpability for the offending should be moderated accordingly.
77.The importance of denunciation needs to be ameliorated as a sentencing consideration.
Limb 2: The condition may have a bearing on the kind of sentence that is imposed.
78.I find that this must be so.
Limb 3: The moderation of general deterrence
79.Mr Miller submits that general deterrence ought to be similarly moderated in light of your poor mental health, as you are not an appropriate vehicle through which to deter others. Thankfully, you are not representative of the broader community, and I agree with Mr Miller.
Limb 4: Specific deterrence moderation.
80.For similar reasons as above, this factor will be sensibly moderated. This was your first time in custody. You have not done anything to suggest that you wish to return there. You have since abided by your bail conditions.
Limb 5: The existence of the condition at the date of sentencing (or its foreseeable recurrence) may mean that a given sentence will weigh more heavily on the offender than it would on a person in normal health.
81.The uncontradicted opinion of Dr Best is that a custodial sentence would weigh more heavily on you than on a person who did not suffer from treatment-resistant schizophrenia. While on remand, most of your time was spent in the prison hospital. This limb is activated, as is for reasons that should be self-evident.
Limb 6 where there is a serious risk of imprisonment having a significant adverse effect on an offender's mental health.
PLEA OF GUILTY
82.This matter resolved at committal mention stage. This was an early as possible please. A powerful discount on the sentence follows.
83.You were co-operative with authorities and explained exactly what you had done and why.
84.The plea attracts the full utilitarian benefit. Adjustments to the usual running of the court would have been needed to accommodate your physical and mental conditions, using a greater than usual amount of court resources.
85.Your plea demonstrates an acceptance of responsibility and willingness to facilitate the course of justice. To the extent that you are able to demonstrate remorse, I find that it does so.
RESTITUTION
86.You intend to repay the total amount that it would cost Ms Mattatia to return her house to its pre-fire condition, in the way that I foreshadowed above.
87.This it is said is a demonstration of remorse and acceptance that what you did was 'a very bad thing'. I hope that this aspect of the aftermath of your actions can be quickly and satisfactorily resolved.
SENTENCING PURPOSES
88.Principles of deterrence (both general and specific), denunciation and just punishment are very important considerations in cases like this.
89.Despite the serious nature of the charge, it was submitted that the Verdins principles applicable to you substantially reduce not only your moral culpability, but they influence the formulation of a just sentence by ameliorating considerations of denunciation, just punishment and deterrence and I accept that this is so.
90.You would be a very vulnerable, first-time prisoner. You are physically, socially and psychologically ill-equipped to manage the unique stresses associated with prison.
91.It is not in your interests, nor in the community's interests, to further incarcerate you. Ultimately the community may be best protected by your rehabilitation.[41]
[41] Sections 5(1)(c) and (e) Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic). See DPP v Milson [2019] VSCA 55, [71].
92.Your consistent and regular NDIS supports, limited mobility, and the fact that you no longer live in the victim's suburb provides some protection against future impulsive acts due to delusions. You presently deny any suicidal thoughts or plans or intent, nor any thoughts of harming others. My view is, as one can see below, that the structure and scaffolding of a CCO would now provide further protections that the community may need.
AVAILABILTY OF PENALTIES OTHER THAN PRISON
93.It was submitted that a suitably fashioned CCO of appropriate duration is warranted in the circumstances of this case.
94.In particular, conditions requiring assessment and treatment of your mental health would be of utility. Supervision and judicial monitoring presented themselves as attractive safeguards to manage you in the community on a CCO.
95.Dr Best's report at p20 [4] also expressed this concern that you are not a patient of your local community mental health service. She opines:
If Mr O'Donnell was placed on a CCO, he would benefit from referral to the Forensicare Serious Offender Consultation Service (F-SOCS) who support Corrections Victoria and mental health services to manage violent offenders who are on community correction orders. The F-SOCS program is for patients living with serious mental illness who are either not currently engaged with area mental health services or where their engagement is problematic.[42]
[42]I pause to add that on the face of it, this seems to describe you perfectly.
96.I pause there. At face value, such a condition would seem tailor-made for you.
97.I had you assessed and received a CCO assessment report 18 June 2025[43] and an accompanying MAHRS report of the same date.[44]
[43]Exhibit 9 – CCO Assessment Outcome Report dated 18 June 2025.
[44] Exhibit 10 – MHARS Assessment dated 17 June 2025.
98.This outcome assessment created some issues. The CCO assessor, who was not initially provided with the addendum report of Dr Best confirming your fitness, had reservations about your ability to consent to an order, or comply with supervision, or to meaningfully engage in treatment. That was said not because you were being difficult or not willing to engage, but simply because of your cognitive presentation, significant difficulties in recall and an inability to engage in discussions regarding the offending. This would impact on appropriate treatment conditions and discussions about harm minimisation.
99.The MAHRS assessor, Mr Beresford, was more positive. He confirmed that you appeared to have a degree of stability and your father commented on the improvement in your mental state. He made two very specific recommendations that I will repeat now:
a)Primarily, you should continue to be engaged with the current supports, both in attending a GP for provision of medication and mental health assessment, and with the NDIS. The specific supports you receive through the NDIS may, however, benefit from the amendment, as he notes below.
b)The second recommendation is following Dr Best's recommendation.
Dr Best's recommendation for F-SOCS supports is appropriate as a precaution, although whether this might need to be sustained is presently unclear. It should be noted that you can be referred to ARBIAS or another service for a neuropsychological assessment to establish whether you have an acquired brain injury (ABI) even if you are not managed by an Area Mental Health Service. Such an assessment could be funded by the NDIS if a care plan could be amended to facilitate it. NDIS would need to liaise with your GP for such a referral.
100.Those reports were provided to the relevant parties, and I invited further submissions to be made about the contents of the report.
101.I asked for the Corrections Victoria assessor or a supervisor to assist in court today. It seemed to me that issues regarding responsivity and treatment could be managed under a CCO, given the supports you currently enjoy, and the obvious benefits and protections afforded under a CCO, if handled sensitively, collaboratively and with a firm understanding of your limitations. What I proposed on the order was not particularly onerous, but might yield real improvements in your life and functioning. In my view, the objects of the order were worth pursuing as there are highly specialist services available to deal with your unique needs.
102.Ms Thorp from the Office of Corrections did attend, and she was of much assistance to the court. She was not the assessor, but rather the supervisor. In essence, Corrections' concern was not so much your ability to consent to an order, but your ability to meaningfully engage in treatment.
103.I have made my views clear about that fact. The quality of your ability to engage in services remains to be seen, but I would not be taking your word for it as to whether you could comply with a CCO just yet. We simply do not know.
104.In my view, the objects of an order are absolutely worth pursuing and I repeat there are highly specialist services available to deal with your unique needs and I expect them to be engaged in.
105.The Crown made submissions confirming their position on sentence was predicated on your ability to be supervised and treated in the community. Absent such protections, a head sentence and non-parole period would be the only option left.
SENTENCE IMPOSED
106.It appears to me I can denounce your conduct, punish you, deter others as well as you, and foster conditions that will assist in your reform (by way of insight, and treatment) by imposing a CCO with conditions in combination with the time you have already served in custody. This provides a more flexible sentencing option, enabling both punishment and rehabilitation purposes to be served at once.[45]
[45] Boulton v The Queen (2014) VR 308.
107.I consider the community is best protected by your reform through monitoring and treatment, and that reform has the greatest prospects of taking root and succeeding at present in the community with tailored supervision and treatment.
108.Providing you consent, I will convict you and sentence you to a combination sentence[46] and that would be of four months' imprisonment with a CCO for a period of 24 months.
[46] And I have noted the 44(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991. This section provides that the general rule regarding the length of combination sentences does not apply to arson offences. Section 44(1A) provides that the Court may order a combination sentence regardless of the length of the term of imprisonment imposed.
Core conditions
109.Every community correction order, including this one, has certain conditions. They are non-negotiable. Those conditions are:
a)You must not commit another offence punishable by imprisonment.
b)You must comply with any obligation or requirement prescribed by the regulations.
c)You must report to and receive visits from the Secretary during the order.
d)You must report to Pakenham Community Corrections Centre within two working days of the commencement of the order.
e)You must notify the Secretary of any change of address or employment within two days of the change.
f)You cannot leave Victoria without permission; and
g)You must comply with any direction given by the Office of Corrections that is necessary for them to give, to make sure that you comply with the order.
Additional conditions
110.In addition to those conditions, I propose to impose the following:
a)Firstly, you be the subject of supervision by the Office of Corrections.
b)Next is that you undergo mental health assessment and treatment as they tell you to do.
c)Next, you engage in programmes designed to reduce your risk of re-offending.
d)And finally, judicial monitoring, which is a process whereby you come before regularly, for me to see how you are going and determine to what extent your needs are being met on the CCO. I will set a judicial monitoring date three months from today with the assistance of my associate, 22 September 2025 at 9.30am.[47]
[47] This is an important feature of this order. It permits me to see how the Order is progressing, it reminds you that you are answerable to the Court for your crime, and it allows me to assess if any adjustments need to be made to the order by way of variation, or simply by further discussion with you, your NDIS worker and other professionals.
111.I can only impose an order of that kind if you agree, Mr O'Donnell. Do you agree?
112.OFFENDER: Yes, I do, Your Honour.
113.HIS HONOUR: Thanks very much. You need to understand if you breach the order in any way, if you committed an offence or did not do what Corrections lawfully directed you to do, you will breach the other. You would be brought back before me and re-sentenced.
114.The offence of breaching a community correction order itself carries penalties of up to three months' imprisonment. So that is an additional disincentive to breach the order.
PSD
115.Pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act1991, I declare 124 days reckoned as having already been served under this sentence and it is my intention that that fully satisfies the custodial portion of the combination sentence.
Section 6AAA Sentencing Act 1991
116.Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act1991, had you not pleaded guilty, still given your limitations, I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of 12 months and the community correction order component would have been three years, not two.
Ancillary
117.I will order disposal of the gas bottle which is Exhibit 4.
118.What I am about to say will find its way into my reasons, but the purpose of judicial monitoring will be to see what value the conditions that I have imposed actually have, how Corrections are meeting Mr O'Donnell's needs and how Mr O'Donnell is responding to them. If Corrections provide a compelling case that those conditions are no longer warranted, or can no longer be achieved, or no longer need to be persisted with, then we have the capacity to vary orders, if necessary, but it is premature that they are of no application or utility at this present point in time.
119.Everyone who has an interest in the case,
Mr Miller, you are obviously welcome to attend if you think that that is necessary or beneficial, can appear online, but it is usually the Corrections' worker. It can be Mr O'Donnell's father and I would certainly encourage his NDIS worker to participate in that too.
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