Director of Public Prosecutions v Ronan

[2024] VCC 2003

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

Case No. CR-24-00843

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

KATARA RONAN

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GWYNN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	10 December 2024
DATE OF RULING:	10 December 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Ronan
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 2003

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:Criminal Law Sentence

Catchwords:              Arson

Legislation Cited:      Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)

Cases Cited:Bugmy v R (2013) 249 CLR 571

Ruling:  271 days’ imprisonment in combination with a community correction order of 18 months' duration

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr S. Tamburro	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms M. Greener	Law and Advocacy Centre for Women

HER HONOUR:

1Katara Ronan, you have pleaded guilty on indictment to a single charge of arson committed on 17 July 2021.

2In sentencing you for your crime, I am obliged to consider the maximum penalty for the offence to which you have entered your guilty plea.  The maximum penalty for arson is 15 years' imprisonment.  This maximum reflects the seriousness with which Parliament regards this offence.

3The circumstances of your offending were set out in a document entitled 'Prosecution Opening for Sentence Indication' dated 17 October 2024.  This is an agreed document and represents your acceptance of the elements of the offence you have committed as well as the factual basis on which I am to sentence.

The offending

4The fire you lit was at a property located at 7 Yeo Court in Meadow Heights. The property was owned by Aboriginal Housing Victoria which assists aboriginal Victorians to secure affordable housing.  You had been on the lease for that residence for approximately 12 years.

5On 17 July 2021 security camera footage showed you leave the premises on foot and carrying two duffle bags at around 11.33 am.  Three minutes later the footage captures smoke coming from 7 Yeo Court.

6At 11.42 am, the first of six Triple 0 calls were made, and Fire Rescue Victoria attended and began extinguishing the fire.  Police arrived shortly thereafter.

7At the same time you reattended and stood across the road from your home watching the fire. You told police that you had left the night before and had just returned home.

8The cause of the fire was identified to be ignition of combustible material, possibly bedding.  The premises was destroyed with an estimated value of damage to be $340,000.

9You were arrested on 25 August 2021 and were interviewed by police.  You denied igniting the fire.  You were then charged and bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 26 August 2021.

Offence gravity and victim impact

10You had been living in the property for some time and the conditions of the property are said to be squalid.  It is suggested that the offending was motivated by your desire to improve your living arrangements after a complaint history between you and Aboriginal Housing Victoria.

11Whilst it is not alleged that anyone was at home at the time of the fire, it was not without its consequences and potential for harm.  As referred to earlier, there were six calls made to Triple 0.  It was the neighbours who were responsible for calling emergency services, not you.

12I could not form the view that your offending was a planned event. Nevertheless, arson carries significant dangers and risks in terms of damage to property as well as potentially placing the lives of the individual, emergency service personnel and members of the community in harm's way.  Fire is inherently unpredictable and the risk of the fire spreading to neighbouring properties was obvious.  In this instance a home that would normally be made available to vulnerable Aboriginal members of the community has been destroyed.

Plea of guilty

13The Sentencing Act 1991 obliges me to take into account the stage at which you entered your guilty plea.

14As already stated, the alleged offending occurred on 17 July 2021 and you were charged around that time.  The matter has not been in a position to proceed due to you failing to appear on a number of occasions, including two occasions that this matter was listed for a sentence indication application being 24 October 2024 and 21 November 2024.

15This matter resolved at sentence indication hearing at the County Court on 5 December 2024 at which time you accepted the indication given, that, should you plead guilty, the time you had served by way of presentence detention in combination with a community correction order would be the likely outcome.  

16There is clear value in saving witnesses of the need to give evidence, and utilitarian value in saving the community the expense of contested proceedings.  Your decision to plead guilty has utilitarian value as it provides both certainty and finality to all parties.

17Whilst remorse is harder to discern, you have taken responsibility for your offending. 

18These factors will be taken into account in your favour.

Personal circumstances

19Your personal circumstances have been helpfully outlined in written submissions filed on your behalf as well as the psychological assessment report of Mr Austin Campbell dated 8 October 2024.

20You are one of the middle children in your family.  You state that you were not close to your father who passed away some 20 years ago.

21You grew up in Melbourne.  Your parents separated when you were young, and you resided with your mother.  You moved a number of times during your childhood including to Perth when you were around eight years of age.  At some stage, you returned to Melbourne, with your mother leaving you in Melbourne and returning to Perth when you were around 14 years of age.  You then resided with your grandmother until she moved to Perth, leaving you on your own in your mid-teens.  Multiple relocations made it difficult for you to develop a sense of stability and that, combined with responsibilities you had from an early age in caring for younger siblings, interrupted your education.

22You have limited work experience.

23You commenced a serious relationship at around the age of 15 or 16 and there are four children of that relationship aged between 15 and 25 years. This relationship was fraught with violence, and you left when aged around 30 years.

24You began drinking alcohol when around 16 years of age and describe yourself as an alcoholic over a number of years.  You continued drinking until you began illicit drug use.  You started using methamphetamines 10 to 15 years ago in the context of socialising after separation from your partner.  You enjoyed the freedom you found in leaving that relationship.  Related to your drug use, your children were taken from your care and at various times resided with their maternal grandmother or your sister.  You do maintain contact with your children.

25The evidence currently before me is insufficient for me to find that the Bugmy principles would have application.[1]  I accept by virtue of multiple moves in your childhood and changes in those administering parental responsibility, that there was a lack of stability.  You were responsible for younger family members when you were also young yourself.   You are Aboriginal and I acknowledge the likelihood of intergenerational trauma.

[1] Bugmyv R (2013) 249 CLR 571.

26Your prior criminal history is also part of your personal circumstances and I have had regard to the criminal history filed.  You do have a limited criminal history and one which is not particularly relevant to the sentencing task.   I am not told of any further offending since this matter.

Expert report

27The psychological assessment report authored by Austin Campbell noted that you were somewhat guarded in providing information or had limited recall.

28You did recall housing instability at the time of the offending, as well as continuing drug use.  You had not engaged any support services.  You denied any mental health issues, and none were specifically identified.

29You were diagnosed with substance use disorder.  Whilst assessing your prospects as favourable, Mr Campbell was of the opinion that you do present with barriers towards engaging in future treatment. 

Prospects for rehabilitation

30From materials filed on your behalf, you engaged well with support services whilst on remand.  I have had regard to letters from Elizabeth Morgan House, 3rd Mind Alcohol and Drug Program and the ReStart program.  Apparently, you were identified as a skilled artist.

31Other material tendered referred to services available to you on release from custody.  When bailed, you did not appear to have taken up the offer of support services and, as already referred, tended to not to attend your court hearings.  You would return to drug usage.  Nevertheless, it may well be that your exposure to the custodial setting is able to offer a degree of sanction and deterrent into the future.

32I encourage you to consider utilising the help which has been offered.

33As noted already, you do have a limited criminal history.

Sentencing

34I have had regard to the sentencing snapshot for the sentencing trends in the higher courts for the charge of arson between the years 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 filed on your behalf.  Such that they assist, these statistics reveal that between those years, 86.2% of persons dealt with for the charge of arson received a term of imprisonment and that the median total effective sentence was one of one year and nine months. 

35The Crown had submitted at your sentence indication hearing that a combination sentence – that is, a term of imprisonment in combination with a community correction order, would adequately reflect all relevant sentencing considerations.  Ultimately, as referred to earlier, you accepted a sentence indication in those terms.  The duration of any correction order was not part of the indication given.   

36I have had regard to all materials tendered.

37Given your acceptance of the sentencing indication, your plea was formally entered, and I ordered that you be assessed as to your suitability for a community correction order.

38An assessment outcome report dated 9 December 2024 does find you suitable for a community correction order.  A mental health condition was not recommended in a report of the same date provided by the Mental Health Advice Referral Service. 

Sentencing

39The basic purposes for which a court may impose sentence are just punishment, general and specific deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community.

40In sentencing you, I must have regard to a range of matters which include the seriousness of the offending, your culpability for it, your personal circumstances and those of any victims.  I must also balance the interests of the community in denouncing criminal conduct with the interests that the community clearly has in seeking to ensure, where possible, that offenders are rehabilitated and are reintegrated into society.

41I have taken into account the sentencing purposes referred to in s5 of the Sentencing Act where relevant to your case and the current sentencing practices for the offence to which you have pleaded guilty.

42Katara Ronan, on the single charge of arson you are convicted and sentenced to 271 days' imprisonment of which I reckon 271 days as having already been served.

43This term of imprisonment is in combination with a community correction order of 18 months' duration. 

44Whilst subject to that order you are to:

(a)To be supervised by the Office of Corrections;

(b)You are to perform 175 hours of community work;

(c)You are to undergo treatment and rehabilitation for drug use;

(d)You are to undergo programs to reduce offending including a referral to the Forensic Intervention Services; and

(e)Seventy-five hours of treatment is to be offset against the community work component.  That is, the more treatment, the less community work.

45In addition to the condition that I have imposed, there are standard conditions.  The first and foremost of those is you must not commit any other offences during the 18-month period which could be punished by imprisonment.  You must report within two working days to your nearest corrections office.  You are also required to advise your corrections officer of any change of address of where you are living or working and must do so within two clear working days of any change.  It is a term of all community correction orders that you must submit to visits as directed and obey all the instructions and directions of a corrections officer.  You are not able to leave the State of Victoria without the prior permission of your supervising corrections office.

46In essence, this order can be breached if you do not comply with it in terms of the conditions or if you reoffend with an offence punishable by imprisonment whilst it is in place.   If you do so, you will have to appear before me for contravening the order.  I may have to resentence you on the original charge of arson, as well as for a separate charge of contravening a corrections order.

47I can only place you on such an order with your consent and in a moment I will allow you to speak to Ms Greener about that.

48Section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act requires me to state the sentence I would have imposed had you not pleaded guilty to the charge.  If not for your plea of guilty, you would have been sentenced to a total effective sentence of two years' imprisonment with a minimum of 12 months before being eligible for parole. 

49Thank you.

50MR TAMBURRO:  As Your Honour pleases.

51MS GREENER:   As Your Honour pleases.

52HER HONOUR:  All right.  Now it will take my associates a minute or two to type up the order.  I will, if you wish to go through that with your client, give you that opportunity as well.

53MS GREENER:  Thank you, Your Honour.

54HER HONOUR:  Have we heard about the other?  No, no, it's all right.  I'll just stand down temporarily.  Thank you.

55Okay.  Have you had the opportunity to finalise your instructions, Ms Greener?

56MS GREENER:  Yes, Your Honour.

57HER HONOUR:  Okay.

58MS GREENER:  Ms Ronan has confirmed her instructions, Your Honour.

59HER HONOUR:  Great.  Well, I will sign that accordingly.  It will be sent through to Ms Ronan and she will be released.  I don't mean this the way it might sound, Ms Ronan, but I do not want to see you again, so if you stick to this order, I will not.

60OFFENDER:  Thank you.  You won't see me.

61HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  All right.  Thank you very much, Ms Greener, for your assistance.  Thank you very much, Mr Tamburro.  You're free to go.

62MR TAMBURRO:  May it please the court.  Thank you, Your Honour.

63MS GREENER:  As the court pleases.  Thank you, Your Honour.

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