Director of Public Prosecutions v Pedley (a pseudonym)

[2024] VCC 1202

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

ADAM PEDLEY (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE JOHNS
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	7 August 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	8 August 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Pedley (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 1202

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:  CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence

Catchwords:             Aggravated burglary – Sexual assault – Relevant summary offences of contravene family violence intervention order -

Sentence:Total effective sentence of three years’ and two months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr D. Hancock	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms J. Swiney	Chester Metcalfe & Co

HIS HONOUR: 

1Adam Pedley,[1] on 1 August you were found guilty by a jury after a six day trial of aggravated burglary and sexual assault.  The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary is 25 years' imprisonment, the maximum penalty for sexual assault is 10 years' imprisonment.  Those maximums are indicative of the seriousness with which the legislature regards these offences.

[1] A pseudonym.

2You were acquitted of a charge of criminal damage, a charge of theft, and two charges of sexual assault.  I directed entry of not guilty verdicts in respect of two charges of aggravated burglary.

3You have pleaded guilty to two relevant summary offences of contravene intervention order and the first relates to an attendance on 29 September, the second on 7 October 2022.  The maximum penalty for contravene an intervention order is two years' imprisonment.

Criminal History

4You have a lengthy criminal history.  Of concern and relevance for sentencing purposes is the frequency of offending involving Ms Walsh,[2] the victim in the matter the subject of the trial and your former partner.  I was told that history includes at least six contravention of the corrections orders and six assault causing injuries relating to your former partner.  I have not counted them myself, but the record I have perused, and it is apparent the extent and frequency of like offending.

[2] A pseudonym.

5I received summaries of relevant prior convictions which was Exhibit B and a list of how those summaries related to the criminal record.

6It is clear from that record and from the matters before me that specific deterrence, denunciation and general deterrence are significant sentencing features in this case.  The screams of protest and distress of your victim that were prominent during the trial via the CCTV footage and another recording and the Triple 0 recordings, and her distress when challenged in evidence, are better understood when viewed in the context of the history of torment and disempowerment that she has experienced at your hands over several years.

7Your offending was reflective of your refusal to respect her rights, her person, her freedom; reflective of your self-righteous and self-interested attitude and your instinct to dominate and overbear Ms Walsh.

8General deterrence is important in relation to offending in this context, the context of family violence and the history of family violence, the effect it has on victims such as Ms Walsh.  The sentences I impose need to reflect that denunciation from the community and concern from the community in relation to family violence offending of this type, and also to deter others from engaging in offending of this type.

Circumstances of Offending

9You attended on 29 September in breach of an intervention order and behaved in an intimidatory and selfish manner, putting Ms Walsh in fear.

10You attended again on 7 October, which was the events the subject of the trial.  I accept on balance that you wanted to discuss children and visits and why she had not visited.  I accept on balance there was also an issue over money that you had lent to Ms Walsh.  That in no way justified either your attendance in breach of the intervention order or certainly not what followed.

11I accept generally on balance the history as reflected in the text messages that were relied upon during the trial and some admissions made by Ms Walsh, in limited admissions in respect of some of the context and background.  And I accept on balance those matters in your record of interview that are not in conflict with the findings of guilt.

12You knew you were attending in breach of your intervention order but your breach of that intervention order became more serious over the next
10 minutes.

13It is constituted by your complete disregard for her rights, for her sanctity of her home and your insistent presence, despite her pleas for you to leave and her pushing you away.  You entered her house without permission and over her loud and distressed protest, you did that twice. 

14On a third occasion you barged in intent on assaulting her.  You squeezed her nipples (sexual assault charge).  The intrusion on this occasion lasted approximately 20 seconds and Ms Walsh can be heard wailing and screaming. 

15In her evidence in this court her responses to puttage conveyed the extent of the violation, the intrusion that the sexual assault occasions.  How painful it was, how humiliating, how disempowering and devastating it was for her.

16I am satisfied your actions arose out of anger and frustration, boiling over in a desire to dominate, to punish, to humiliate, to subjugate.  It is conduct that must be condemned and denounced by the imposition of gaol terms.

Personal Circumstances

17Turning to your person history and I will note at this point that I received a letter from your mother which went into your background, and I accept the substance of that.

18You were born and raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.  At
18 months of age your parents separated.  You have got a number of younger siblings.  You have a very close relationship with your mother.  Your mother is supportive and that will be important for you moving forward when you are released on parole.  Your siblings are also supportive.

19The situation with your former partner and your children has clearly been a source of much angst and difficulty.  What should be brought home to you now, given that you have been in custody for 640 days, is that you simply must control your impulses to not only breach the order, but to resort to violence and sexual violence on this occasion, out of your frustration at those child and family situations.

20You have shown in the past that you can work.  You completed Year 12.  You started working in hospitality upon leaving school.  You worked at KFC and ended up being a manager.  You also moved to Kalgoorlie and worked in a gold mine as a trades assistant. 

21In 2011 you returned to Victoria.  Your grandparents passed in quick succession and this had a significant impact upon you.  You met Ms Walsh and commenced a relationship and your eldest was born in 2013, your second child in 2018, and third in 2020. 

22You have worked at Coles as a night shift worker, overnight McDonald's, you have worked in retail and hospitality.  You have also been a stay-at-home dad for a while. 

23As was clear in the evidence, you were living in a caravan park at the time of the offences before me.  Whilst on remand you have had some contact with your children, in particular you have had contact with your mother.  You have done your best to improve yourself in custody and have undertaken a number of courses, for which there has been certificates; all of these have been filed and provided to me.  I received one today on the Dads Tuning into Kids program.  There are a range of other certificates that have previously been filed, I will not read them all out, but I accept you have been doing everything you can in custody to work on yourself.

24So all of that demonstrates that you do have prospects of rehabilitation.  This is the longest period of custody you have served and it should be – and I accept it is – a wakeup call and emphasises to you where further examples of this sort of entitled behaviour will lead you.  It will lead you into longer gaol terms.  So I have some confidence that given your antecedents, you understand that you simply cannot continue on down this path. 

25What gives pause and provides me to be somewhat guarded is the lengthy and frequent history in relation to your former partner.  That things have now hit such a peak and you have been in custody for a significant period of time and when you are released it will be on parole, I am satisfied that given the other features which I have referred to, your prospects are reasonable.

26Doing the best I can in drawing together the factors I must, such as general deterrence, denunciation, protection of the community which effectively means your former partner in the context of this offending, as well as taking into account your prospects of rehabilitation and other relevant factors, I sentence you as follows.

Sentence

27In relation to the charge of aggravated burglary you are sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment.

28In relation to the charge of sexual assault you are sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

29In relation to 29 September contravene intervention order charge you are sentenced to one month imprisonment.

30In relation to 7 October contravene intervention order you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

31I order that six months of the sentence imposed on the sexual assault charge be served cumulatively upon the base sentence, which is the sentence on the aggravated burglary charge and other sentences.

32I order that two months of the contravene intervention order sentence in respect of 7 October be served cumulatively on the base sentence and other sentences. 

33That makes a total effective sentence of three years and two months.

34I set a period of two years before you are eligible for parole.

35I declare that you have served – is it 641 days?

36MR HANCOCK:  It's 639 up until yesterday, Your Honour.

37HIS HONOUR:  Was it, so it is 640 today.  All right.

38Not including today 640 days are declared as pre-sentence detention.

39There are no other orders I need to make?

40MR HANCOCK:  No, Your Honour.

41HIS HONOUR:  No.  All right.

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