Director of Public Prosecutions v Reussien
[2023] VCC 2312
•7 December 2023
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted |
Case No. CR-23-00404
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| V |
| Rayna Reussien |
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JUDGE: | Karapanagiotidis | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 24 November 2023 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 7 December 2023 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Reussien | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2023] VCC 2312 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW – Sentencing
Catchwords: Plea of Guilty – aggravated burglary – common law assault – alcohol abuse – cognitive deficits – impoverished circumstances – homelessness
Legislation Cited: ss5; 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991
Cases Cited:
Sentence: Combination sentence of imprisonment for a period of 8 months, and a Community Corrections Order of 9 months.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mx S. Van Dyk | Scott Kaiser (OPP) |
| For the Accused | Ms E. Byrt | Hannah Fiddelaers (VLA) |
.
HER HONOUR:
1Rayna Reussien, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated burglary (offensive weapon) and one charge of common law assault. You have also agreed to this Court hearing and you have pleaded guilty to a related summary offence of wilful damage.
Circumstances of offending
2The full circumstances of your offending are outlined in the prosecution opening.
Incident 1
3In the early hours of the morning on 17 November 2022, you were captured on CCTV footage leaving your apartment, using a public phone box to try and reach two people, whom police believe to have been your relatives. Neither answered the phone and records show that you then successfully got through to Lifeline, which is a crisis support line.
4After leaving the phone box, you were seen walking to a nearby McDonalds in Malvern East. You removed your jumper in the carpark and tied it around your head, in an attempt to conceal your face.
5At 4:19am, you entered the McDonalds, which was open for business. With your face now half covered by your jumper. An employee observed you walk behind the counter and enter the kitchen area which was for staff only.
6You raised your shirt as you walked past the counter, removing a large knife from the front of your waistband, whilst walking toward employee Ryan Mallampati, who was standing next to the fryers. You pointed the knife at him and stated, ‘Get to the back’.
7Mr Mallampati walked backwards with his hands in the air and told two of his other staff members to “Get in the office.”
8The three staff members retreated to the office and closed the door, locking it behind them. You did not attempt to enter the office with them, or say anything further to them.
9Despite there being nobody else in the immediate vicinity visible, you were depicted on CCTV motioning for someone to come towards you. You then retreated from the back section of the restaurant, having only been out there for a few seconds, and were observed placing the knife under your t-shirt before you went to the drive-thru area. From the time you produced the knife to the time it was placed back under your t-shirt, 10 seconds had passed.
10The employee who had been watching you, who you did not appear to have noticed, ran towards the toilets at the back of the store upon seeing the knife. She then returned almost immediately and is seen in the CCTV footage watching you from behind the café counter.
11Mr Mallampati and the two other staff members observed you through the glass windows of the office. You paced back and forth, as if you were searching for something, before exiting the restaurant.
12Mr Mallampati then phoned ‘000’. Nothing was taken from the restaurant. The whole incident – from you entering the store and leaving it - lasted for approximately 40 seconds. Once outside, you picked up a sign from in front of the store and threw it in the direction of a parked car. CCTV footage from the area shows that you immediately returned home after the incident.
Incident 2
13On Friday 16 December 2022, you attended the ground level foyer at 70 Batesford Road in Chadstone.
14You are depicted on CCTV pushing a trolley containing boxes of alcohol from the front doors toward the communal lifts and letting go of the trolley.
15The trolly narrowly avoided colliding with two residents who were talking through the corridor and crashed into the communal lifts, smashing the alcohol bottles, and damaging the lift.
Investigation and Arrest
16Police obtained CCTV footage which showed your entire route for Incident 1, including the time you were in the phone box, trying to call for assistance.
17Call records from the phone box then assisted you to be identified, and on 21 December 2022, Police attended your apartment to execute a search warrant. You refused to open the door and police were required to force entry. You were taken to the Prahran police station however police were unable to interview you, due to the extent that your health had deteriorated whilst in custody.
18You have remained in custody since the date of your arrest on 21 December 2022 and have now served 253 in custody by way of pre-sentence detention, having had 97 days declared in another matter.
Gravity of offending
19The maximum penalty for aggravated burglary reflects the seriousness of the charge, Mr Reussien. In your case, I accept the prosecution submission that the gravity of your offending is in the low range. While there was a degree of planning involved in your offending, as you attempted to conceal your face and were armed with a knife, your offending was otherwise relatively unsophisticated and also of short duration.
20With respect of the common law assault, I take into account that after you told Mr Mallampati to ‘get to the back’ you made no further attempt to approach him or enter the office where he, along with other employees, had retreated.
21As to the motive behind your offending, it is unclear. While you looked around, you did not take anything or make any further demands. Having watched the CCTV footage in Court, your behaviour seems to be unusual and erratic.[1] You appear to motion or gesture at somebody even though it seems that nobody is around at the time. The phone calls you made prior to leaving your home in the early hours of the morning suggest that you may have been in some crisis or trying to get some assistance. Certainly, by the time you were arrested, your health appeared to have deteriorated, with you suffering seizures.
[1] Exhibits C: CCTV footage from McDonald’s customer area; Exhibit D: CCTV footage from above McDonald’s kitchen fryer
22Your Counsel submits that at the relevant time you had been experiencing homelessness during the pandemic and sleeping rough. You were also alcohol affected and you instruct that you had been drinking excessively as a result of flashbacks you had experienced of previous trauma. You were linked into some social and housing supports.
23None of this of course excuses your offending. Your victims were soft targets and at their place of work when they were confronted by you brandishing a large knife, which no doubt would have been terrifying.
Plea of guilty
24Mr Reussien, your case resolved following a case assessment hearing on 6 June 2023. Your plea of guilty entitles you to a substantial discount in sentence. Your plea of guilty has utilitarian value and carries additional benefit during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Your plea of guilty represents an acceptance of responsibility for your offending and a willingness to facilitate the course of justice. I accept that it is also indicative of remorse and I further note that no witnesses have been cross examined in this matter.
Personal circumstances
25Your personal circumstances were outlined by your Counsel, Ms Byrt and are also canvassed in the recent neuropsychological report of Dr Rachel O’Meara.
26Briefly, you were born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania with your parents and older brother and younger sister.
27Your father worked as a waterside worker and now works as a Child Protection worker. Your mother volunteers as a pastoral care worker.
28You attended primary school in Hobart and struggled with engagement due to bullying and violence directed at you by classmates.
29You went on to complete Year 9 but continued to experience difficulties, and ultimately started gravitating towards negative peers.
30Upon completing school you began working in various capacities, including groundwork and maintenance work and in retail. You then undertook a Green Course at Conservation Volunteers and Government Training (CVGT) and completed the six-month program and continued to work for them in a paid capacity for a period of time.
31At 18 years of age you moved out of the family home into a shared house. You began volunteering at a local community centre and undertook odd paid jobs of washing cars or gardening for neighbours. It is also at around this age that you began drinking excessively.
32At the age of 20 you attended a Skills for Work and Training course at TasTAFE. You returned home living with your parents for several years and assisted them on their rural property.
33During this period of time your alcohol consumption continued to increase, and your parents did not want you living there while you were drinking. You moved into a shared house where your drinking got worse. While you continued to engage in some work, it was mostly intermittent.
34At around this time, that is when you were aged 25 to 27 years, you were the victim of a home invasion. A young woman had been staying at the share house and her family believed her missing. As a result, upon learning she was staying at the share house, they attended the house with masks, weapons and a sawn-off shotgun. In the course of this incident, you were assaulted and your property destroyed. You left the house and returned to your parents’ rural property. The incident was not reported to the police. You instruct that the assailants tried to later pursue you at your parents property which ultimately caused you to leave. Shortly thereafter, in around 2018, you relocated to Victoria. I note that your parents had to sell their rural property about five years ago.
35At least partly emanating from this incident, you report longstanding issues with depression and anxiety, including social anxiety and post-traumatic symptoms. While there was some reference to paranoid schizophrenia in medical records, there was no evidence of prescribed antipsychotic medications or symptoms during your recent assessment by Dr O’Meara.
36Continuing with your personal history, in Melbourne you had some friends and family but you did not have long term accommodation and you were couch surfing and soon regularly sleeping rough. Without a static address you struggled to receive Centrelink.
37During the Covid-19 pandemic you began engaging with the Launch Housing Rough Sleeps Initiative. You were provided with accommodation in the city and then at the Coburg Motor Inn. However you struggled and found it difficult to live amongst rampant substance use and so continued to sleep rough. You then relocated to the Mornington Peninsula and you were camping/squatting in the bush. You had friends who would bring you food and allow you to do your laundry in their homes. Peninsula Health in Hastings also became involved by attending your camp and bringing you food and clothes. They encouraged you to engage with Launch Housing and you were linked in with the H2H program.
38The H2H program was able to assist you with hotel accommodation before eventually assisting you to move into your current social housing in Chadstone. This housing has been maintained while you have been in custody, with the Salvation Army PPP program, H2H client funding and your parents assisting in paying the rent.
39In terms of drugs and alcohol, you have a significant history of alcohol abuse. You’ve also had some previous experience with illicit drugs, as outlined in the report of Dr O’Meara.
40As for your health, you have suffered from seizures, which appear to be related to alcohol withdrawal, and you attended at Monash Health prior to your offending and remand. You were required to undertake various testings and have also been requested to do a CT scan. This was unable to be completed due to your remand.
41In custody you are currently prescribed, and compliant, with an anti-depressant medication, Sertraline. You have apparently seen a doctor while in custody but have otherwise had no further mental health support.
42Mr Reussien, you have a relevant prior criminal history both in Tasmania and Victoria. Your history in Tasmania relates to drug matters, breaching restraining orders, disorderly conduct, destroy property, and failing to comply with police directions. You have received monetary penalties, periods of probation, community work and terms of imprisonment. In Victoria you have three prior appearances for charges including theft, possess weapon and imitation firearm, drunk and disorderly, commit offence on bail, make threat to kill and assaults. On your last appearance you received 94 days’ imprisonment, which was wholly reckoned as served.
Mental health and cognitive functioning
43The MHARS report indicates that you have had limited contact with public mental health services in Victoria. You have had three registrations with different area mental health services in 2021. Your last contact with Monash health through the emergency department mental health, resulted in your diagnosis of alcohol misuse. You have not had a psychiatric admission and have not been treated involuntarily under the Mental Health Act.
44Dr O’Meara’s report also provides further detail as to your various presentations to medical services, where its mostly noted that you were affected by, intoxicated, or withdrawing from alcohol. This includes 17 occasions at Monash Health, 21 attendance at Peninsula Health and 10 admissions at Alfred Health. Frequently you discharged yourself against medical advice and were later difficult to contact for follow up. You also showed some ambivalence to engaging with drug and alcohol services. Also, your medical history confirms your presentation to hospital for withdrawal seizures following heavy alcohol use.
45Given your history of alcohol abuse and various reported and some documented head injuries, Dr O’Meara conducted a neuropsychological assessment of you. The results of the assessment were considered to provide a valid and reliable indication of your level of functioning at the time. You obtained a Full Scale IQ score of 87, which is mildly below premorbid expectations and most aged-matched peers and in the Low Average range. There was however significant variability which may have undermined this specific score.
46In general, you demonstrated average range or above performances across numerous cognitive domains, including most verbal intellectual and language-based skills, aspects of executive functioning and new learning and memory of more meaningful and contextualised verbal information. In contrast, you performed in the low average range on several measures including delayed recall of more structured visual information and new learning of less meaningful verbal information. Performances in the borderline range included psychomotor processing speed on less familiar tasks and accuracy of verbal impulse control under low attentional demand. Falling within the extremely low, that is severely impaired, range were your abilities in aspects of executive attention (attention shifting and verbal impulse control under higher attention demand) and delayed recall of visual information presented briefly.
47Dr O’Meara states that your primary difficulties with executive attention skills – that is sustained attention, working memory ability, attention shifting, verbal impulse control and self-monitoring – in conjunction with your reported functional difficulties in everyday life may be indicative of an underlying neurodevelopmental disorder, namely Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Further investigation however was recommended. Dr O’Meara outlines in detail the impact of your cognitive impairments in your everyday functioning.[2] She also considers that these deficits will be exacerbated, in other words worsened, and all cognitive functions negatively impacted, when you are under the influence of alcohol and other substances.
[2] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.17]
48With reference to your previous admissions and treatments, Dr O’Meara notes that numerous CT Brain scans in the past have not revealed any intracranial abnormality or fractures and there have been no documented neurological abnormalities that would indicate a significant traumatic brain injury (‘TBI’). As such, she concludes ‘it is likely that any TBI sustained in Victoria would have been mild in nature and a full recovery expected in the absence of persistent alcohol abuse.’[3] Dr O’Meara also reports that there was no evidence of Intellectual Disability on assessment.
[3] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.16]
49Dr O’Meara concludes that your significant history of alcohol abuse is likely to have contributed to your cognitive deficits on testing. Given that at the time of the assessment you had been abstinent from alcohol for an extended period of time, the deficits evident on testing cannot be attributable to the acute effect of withdrawal. She states however that you may ‘continue to experience some further mild recovery of cognitive function with maintained abstinence in the future.’[4] Comprehensive mental health diagnosis was beyond the scope of Dr O’Meara’s report though it was noted that conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can also impact attention and speed of information processing. She also opined that you clearly meet the criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder.
[4] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.16]
50In terms of your cognitive deficits Dr O’Meara considers that they may have a negative impact on your ability ‘to make calm reasoned decisions and appropriate judgements in certain circumstances.’[5] She opines however that there is little evidence to suggest a direct relationship between your cognitive deficits apparent on testing and the offending. She considers that you would have been aware of the wrongfulness of your actions and the likely impact on your victims. There is a clear relationship between your offending and your alcohol use, though you may have been self-medicating to deal with post traumatic symptoms.
[5] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.18]
51She also opines that while you did not report any difficulties in custody, and it’s unlikely that your cognitive deficits would deteriorate, you:
May find aspects of a prison environment more difficult to manage as a result of the cognitive difficulties apparent on … testing. Specifically [you] may be at increased risk of disciplinary action for failing to follow instructions or appearing not compliant … as a result of [your] attentional and processing speed difficulties. [You] will also be at risk of responding impulsively without fully considering the consequences of [your] actions …[6]
[6] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.18]
52I take into account her opinion in this regard. Overall, I take into account as part of your general circumstances the cognitive impairments as outlined in detail in Dr O'Meara's report.
Prospects of rehabilitation
53In your case, Mr Reussien, it is somewhat difficult to make an accurate assessment as to your prospects of rehabilitation, and caution is needed. Overall, on the material before me I regard them as reasonable, provided you engage in treatment for alcohol abuse and do not return to your previous levels of alcohol use.
54In your assessment with MHARS you reported often feeling anxious and having nightmares, and self-medicating with alcohol. You reported drinking right before your incarceration and that you have maintained sobriety for nearly a year now. The writer of the report recommends that a mental health condition be included, should the Court impose a community corrections order (CCO). The clinician states:
Supporting his continued abstinence from substances and medical and psychological assistance to deal with his anxiety and trauma symptoms and to develop more appropriate coping skills will play an important role in reducing his risk of re-offending.
55From a cognitive perspective, you present as a low risk of reoffending. You have the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong and to comprehend the potential impact of your actions on your victims, and you have the capacity to learn from previous experiences. Your risk is heightened alcohol effected.
56Your insights and motivations in respect of your alcohol consumption appear to be lacking and to wax and wane. At the time of Dr O’Meara’s assessment, you remained unsure and vague regarding your plans for future alcohol consumption. She considers that the biggest barrier to your rehabilitation is your lack of insight into the need for, and willingness to engage in, recommended treatment. Recently you indicated to the corrections assessing officer that you would continue to drink upon release. When assessed by the MHARS clinician you expressed some insight and motivation to stop drinking. Today, I was informed by your counsel that in recent conferences, you have expressed to her a willingness to engage in treatment and to stop your drinking.
57It is clear that your abuse of alcohol has in the past caused your circumstances, behaviours, health and cognitive functioning to significantly deteriorate. You need, Mr Reussien, to get help and stop. Dr O’Meara states, very plainly, that should you return to your previous levels of drinking, you would be at very high risk of sustaining further cognitive impairment. If you do not, then your cognitive abilities are likely to improve. Also, she suggests that diagnostic clarification is required to determine if you would benefit from treatment for potential ADHD and PTSD diagnosis.
58In my assessment of your rehabilitative prospects, I take into account that you have had some work in the past, though it seems that you have not worked for some years now and are now awaiting an outcome for the Disability Support Pension. It is also noted in the material that you may have applied for NDIS. It appears that you are capable of learning new skills and I note that Dr O’Meara states in her report that ‘encouragingly … [you] demonstrated an ability to learn and retain information over time and benefited from the provision of prompts and cues’.[7] In custody recently you have completed a number of courses, including a Basic English course, an alcohol and me course, a housing support and community support session, a safe food handling course and a barista course. You also told the Court that you had been attending AA meetings and that you have also done that in the community also and found it to be of some benefit.
[7] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.15]
59You also retain the support of your parents, which I regard as an important protective factor. In their letter to the Court they confirm that they have maintained contact with you in custody. You also write each other letters and they comment that they have been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by your apparent ‘level headedness, clear thinking and positive attitude, which for many years was sorely lacking.’ It is clear in their letter, Mr Reussien, that your parents support you and that they are hopeful that you have 'the incentive to actually turn [your] life around'. I note today that you informed the court that your father has again travelled in very recent times to see you and is here in Melbourne.
60Since 2021 you have also engaged with Star Health, after being referred through Launch Housing Rough Sleeps Initiative. They met with you regularly while you were staying in emergency accommodation and they confirm that you moved into your current social housing located in Chadstone on 16 March 2022. The program will continue to offer support to you and will provide you with ongoing case management over the next 12 months.
61Your parents also confirm that it is difficult for them to continue subsidising your rent, which they have been doing now for over a year. I regard stable housing as critical to your rehabilitation and in sentencing you I’ve factored in the importance of preserving this. In her report Dr O’Meara states
His greatest concern regarding a lengthy period of incarceration was that he would lose his accommodation, which would result in him being homeless and at a high risk of returning to heavy alcohol consumption, which would therefore place him at high risk of sustaining further cognitive impairment.[8]
[8] [8] Neuropsychological Report of Rachel O’Meara, dated 20.09.2023 [p.18]
Sentencing purposes
62The purposes for which sentences may be imposed are just punishment, general deterrence, specific deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community, and those objectives and principles are clearly relevant in your case.
63I take into account the sentencing guidelines referred to in s5 of the Sentencing Act 1991, where relevant. I also take into account the general sentencing landscape for such offending, particularly for aggravated burglary, along with the maximum penalties.
64Further, I have taken into account the principles of parsimony, proportionality and totality. In respect of totality, I have taken into account that while involving separate criminality, Charges 1 and 2 occurred during the one incident. Also, I have taken into account that during this period of remand you have served a further 97 days in custody which is referable, and was declared as presentence detention, in an unrelated matter.
65Both Counsel have submitted that it is open to the Court to impose a combination sentence. Can I note and indicate here that I have been most assisted by counsels' practical and collaborative approach in this matter. I had you assessed for a Community Corrections Order and you were assessed as unsuitable. The report notes that you have had no previous involvement with Corrections. You were assessed as a high risk of reoffending and the assessor considered that you failed to provide ‘meaningful evidence of remorse, insight [and] motivation for change.’ At the time of the assessment the author did not have the benefit of Dr O’Meara’s report or the MHARS assessment.
66Mr Reussien, after a consideration of all the circumstances of your case, including your substantial period of time in custody, cognitive deficits, impoverished circumstances at the time of the offending, demonstrated ability to engage (to some extent) with services and lack of history with community correctional services, I consider that a combination sentence is an appropriate one. Of course, should there be a problem of non-compliance with the order component, there will be capacity for this to be dealt with in breach proceedings, which would carry with it the prospect of resentencing. I will return to that in a moment. In all the circumstances of your case, I consider that a combination sentence is capable of satisfying the requirements of proportionality, just punishment and denunciation, while affording you the best prospects for rehabilitation, which ultimately I regard to be in the community’s long-term best interest.[9]
[9] Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 342
67So, Mr Reussien, they are my reasons. I have now arrived at my sentence. I just want to check one thing with Counsel. Counsel, you have both confirmed he has 253 days in pre-sentence detention; 253 days is eight months and a couple of days more on my calculations but if I could have you check that because I was proposing to sentence in months and not days.
68MS VAN DYK: It is approximately eight months, 8.317 months, Your Honour.
69HER HONOUR: That is right. So that is about eight months and three days or so, is it not?
70MS VAN DYK: Yes, Your Honour.
71HER HONOUR: All right.
Sentence
72Mr Reussien, on Charge 1, aggravated burglary, I am sentencing you to eight months and you have done a bit more than eight months, all right?
73OFFENDER: Yes.
74HER HONOUR: And a community corrections order of 9 months.
75OFFENDER: Yes.
76HER HONOUR: All right? So that is a combination sentence; eight months' imprisonment and a community corrections order of nine months.
77Charge 2, common law assault, I am sentencing you to 3 months' imprisonment.
78Summary offence, wilful damage, 7 days' imprisonment.
79Charge 1 is the base sentence. Charge 2 and the summary offence I make no orders for cumulation, they are to be served concurrently.
80That totals then eight months and on Charge 1 and it is Charge 1 alone, it is a combination sentence of eight months and nine months' CCO. All right?
81OFFENDER: Yes. Okay, Your Honour.
82HER HONOUR: Pursuant to s18, I declare that you have served - I am not going to declare formally 253 days because it just needs to be - no, I am not suggesting that he will need it but there a couple of days that have not been declared in this sentence. I will declare eight months as having been served. If that causes any difficulties from our records' point of view, we can deal with that administratively.
83Pursuant to s6AAA but for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to some 22 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 14 months.
84There was a disposal order that was sought, is that right, Ms Van Dyk, and that was unopposed?
85MX VAN DYK: Yes, that is correct, Your Honour.
86HER HONOUR: All right. I will double-check that we have that. I do not know whether we - I do not think we have that. I do not know whether I have seen that disposal - I know it was referred to and it is referred to in your opening. I am just not sure if we have it. Yes?
87MX VAN DYK: Sorry, Your Honour. My learned friend was just saying she might get instructions on whether the clothes are required back.
88HER HONOUR: How about this because I just want to use the remaining time, I need to effectively obtain Mr Reussien's consent remotely now so that will take a few minutes.
89Why don't counsel have an opportunity to obtain instructions, have discussions; if there is no - it might be that there is an agreed position items are deleted or not. Let us know and I will be prepared to make the order administratively.
90MX VAN DYK: Thank you, Your Honour.
91MS BYRT: As Your Honour pleases.
92HER HONOUR: Thank you.
93Now, what I will do in relation to - what this means effectively, Mr Reussien, is today you should be released, all right?
94OFFENDER: Yes. Okay.
95HER HONOUR: You are going to be released on a community corrections order and I have made it for nine months because I have taken into account the fact that you have actually been in custody for a considerable period of time, all right?
96OFFENDER: Yes.
97HER HONOUR: I am also making this order - it is a therapeutic one, Mr Reussien. I am not attaching community work. The conditions that I am attaching are supervision.
98OFFENDER: Yes.
99HER HONOUR: Treatment and rehabilitation. I am going to include drugs given that there is a history there but treatment and rehabilitation for drugs, treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol and treatment and rehabilitation programs to reduce reoffending.
100OFFENDER: Okay.
101HER HONOUR: Now, I am not sure how many programs can be effected or done in that nine-month period, Mr Reussien, but you are an adult, you have not had a drink now for a long time.
102OFFENDER: Yes.
103HER HONOUR: You are aware of the effects that alcohol have on you, no doubt. You have a report, the expert report really did assist me and that reports says if you keep on drinking, you are likely to do yourself permanent damage.
104OFFENDER: Yes.
105HER HONOUR: Now, if that is not a wakeup call, Mr Reussien, and the fact that you have been in custody now for effectively a year, you need to reflect on these issues that you should continue. If there is a lag in any of these conditions, you need to go to your AA meetings, you have got the support of your parents, you have got accommodation, all right?
106OFFENDER: Yes.
107HER HONOUR: You need to change your ways, otherwise it seems quite clear what will occur. You will deteriorate, you will act in a manner that otherwise you would not behave as you did on this occasion but for being highly intoxicated and you are likely to return to custody. All right?
108OFFENDER: Yes.
109HER HONOUR: So I cannot be any plainer, Mr Reussien. You have got supports available to you. You need to make the most of them and to take initiative also. All right?
110OFFENDER: Absolutely.
111HER HONOUR: Do you understand?
112OFFENDER: Yes, absolutely.
113HER HONOUR: I am also going to order judicial monitoring. I do not expect that that is going to continue for a long period of time and I can indicate that, but I will have you back before me.
114What I propose to do - it is 7 December. I just wonder whether I could have Mr Reussien back for judicial monitoring in the last sitting week just to see that - and it is very soon but just to see that he is connected with Corrections, perhaps he could tell me, it is not a condition of the order per se but he will be able to tell me if he is connected with AA, if he is connected with the Star Health people because they are willing to support you also.
115OFFENDER: Yes.
116HER HONOUR: It seems to me it might be best that I have him return just before the year ends and it might be that I do not require any further judicial monitoring after that. Counsel, do you wish to be heard? There is some utility in that I would have thought.
117MX BYRT: That seems suitable, Your Honour. We were just discussing whether or not he will be returning home for Christmas but obviously he has not made plans in relation to that.
118HER HONOUR: He can appear remotely. The fact is also - - -
119MX BYRT: He'd have to seek leave.
120HER HONOUR: - - - you will need to get permission from Corrections. So I will go through those conditions now again noting the time but I will - if he gets that permission and he appears remotely, there is no difficulty. Can I leave that with you, Ms Byrt?
121MX BYRT: Yes.
122HER HONOUR: Otherwise, why don't I have him back on the last sitting day which is 22 December?
123MX BYRT: Thank you, Your Honour.
124HER HONOUR: All right. I mean strictly speaking in terms of corrections orders, as you all appreciate, Counsel do not need to attend, you are welcome to but he will need to attend and hopefully he can with his Corrections officers. So 22 December at - it will be a remote hearing but I might list it for 1 o'clock in case he has difficulties appearing remotely and he needs to attend the court. So I will just do it a 1 o'clock listing which will accommodate anybody who wants to attend.
125MX VAN DYK: As the court pleases.
126HER HONOUR: So, Mr Reussien, - - -
127OFFENDER: Yes.
128HER HONOUR: - - - conditions of the order that I have imposed; supervision, treatment and rehabilitation drugs, treatment and rehabilitation alcohol, treatment and rehabilitation programs, judicial monitoring 22 December, it is the last day that the court is sitting, it is a Friday at 1 pm. If you have set yourself up, it can be remote, all right, by video - - -
129OFFENDER: Yes.
130HER HONOUR: - - - or you come to the County Court. I just want to see you and I would like you to tell me what - how you are going and what you have been doing.
131OFFENDER: Yes.
132HER HONOUR: It is a very informal - it is an informal hearing, do you understand?
133OFFENDER: I - I understand, Your Honour, yes, I do, thanks.
134HER HONOUR: All right. Thank you. Also I am required to - the Corrections office that you will be reporting to is - let me just bring that report again. You will need to report within two days as of today to the Dandenong Corrections Office, do you know where they are?
135OFFENDER: Ah no, I don't, Your Honour.
136HER HONOUR: All right. Well, there will be an address on the paperwork that you get. You will be able to find them but within two days you need to report to them. All right?
137OFFENDER: Okay.
138HER HONOUR: That is the way it works. It is incumbent, it is on you to do that. Do you understand?
139OFFENDER: Yes. So is that - is that - so Friday and then the weekend and on Monday or Friday and Monday?
140HER HONOUR: That means that you would need to - Friday and Monday.
141OFFENDER: Yes.
142HER HONOUR: That is how I understand it. So you will need to report to them by Monday.
143OFFENDER: Okay.
144HER HONOUR: I would suggest that you go in and that you just report to them tomorrow and get yourself sorted out with them, all right?
145OFFENDER: Okay, good.
146HER HONOUR: And in relation to the conditions of the order, along with the conditions I have imposed, there are mandatory conditions that apply to every order.
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