Director of Public Prosecutions v Serhat Unel
[2017] VCC 15
•1 February 2017
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. AP-14-1294
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| SERHAT UNEL |
---
JUDGE: | LEWITAN | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 25 November and 7 December 2016, 1 February 2017 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 1 February 2017 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Serhat Unel | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2017] VCC 15 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---
Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Contravention of Community Corrections Order – Contravention by non-compliance
Legislation cited: Sentencing Act 1991
Sentence:Contravention proven and fined $100 - Community Corrections Order cancelled - Convicted on charges 1 and 2 - Sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 1 month
---
APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Susanna Locke | Director of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Hayley Bate | Marshall & Associates |
HER HONOUR:
1 On 1 October 2014 the County Court set aside the orders imposed at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria on 12 June 2014 and imposed a Community Correction Order for a period of 24 months in relation to the charges of drive whilst disqualified and fail to answer bail.
2 The offence the subject of this order was committed on 26 April 2013. On that day you were driving a motor vehicle after your licence had been cancelled and you were disqualified from driving for a period of four years from 23 November 2011 to 23 November 2015. You failed to answer bail on 15 January 2014.
3 It is now alleged pursuant to s83AD(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 that you have contravened the Community Correction Order without reasonable excuse as follows:
(1) That you failed to perform unpaid community work as required on 9 July 2015, 24 September 2015, 28 January 2016, 4 February 2016 and 25 February 2016.
(2) You failed to undergo treatment and rehabilitation as required on 22 January 2015, 9 February 2015, 18 February 2015, 3 March 2015, 13 April 2016 and 21 April 2016.
(3) That you failed to be supervised, monitored and managed as directed on 28 January 2015, 9 February 2015, 17 February 2015, 17 March 2015, 18 May 2015, 9 June 2015, 3 July 2015, 21 December 2015 and 18 January 2016.
4 You have been convicted of a further offence during the operational period of the Community Correction Order. On 20 May 2016 you were convicted of possessing methylamphetamine on 28 April 2016 and fined $500.
5 Section 83AD of the Sentencing Act 1991 provides that an offender who is subject to a Community Correction Order must not contravene that order, unless the offender has a reasonable excuse. The penalty for contravention of a Community Correction Order is 3 months imprisonment.
6 I find that you have contravened the Community Correction Order imposed by this Court on 1 October 2014. You are convicted of breach of the Community Correction Order and fined $200.
7 Section 83AS of the Sentencing Act provides:
(1) If a court finds a person guilty of an offence under section 83AD (in addition to sentencing the offender for the offence) the court must –
(a) vary the order in any manner set out in section 48M(2)(d),(e), (f), (g) or (h); or
(b) confirm the order originally made; or
(c) cancel the order (if it is still in force) and, whether or not it is still in force, subject to subsection (2), deal with the offender for the offence with respect to which the order was made in any manner in which the court could deal with the offender as if it had just found him or her guilty of that offence; or
(d) cancel the order and make no further order with respect to the offence with respect to which the order was originally made.
8 In determining how to deal with an offender the Court must take into account the extent to which the offender has complied with the order.[1]
[1]Sentencing Act s83AS(2).
9 You have completed 65 hours and 25 minutes of unpaid community work. There remain 84 hours and 35 minutes of unpaid community work pursuant to the Community Correction Order imposed by this Court on 1 October 2014. You were assessed by the Community Offender Advice and Treatment Service (“COATS”) on 8 December 2014 and were referred to the Substance Treatment and Recovery (“Star”) program in Glenroy for treatment. You were nevertheless exited on the basis of non-attendance, having missed three consecutive appointments.
10 You attended for testing on three occasions: 18 December 2014, 22 October 2015 and 21 January 2016. On each of those three occasions you returned positive results for amphetamine type substances. You denied substance use until September 2015, when you reported increasing levels of methylamphetamine (ice). You stated that you were using ice two to three times per week.
11 Despite being requested to do so on numerous occasions, you failed to provide a Mental Health Care Plan. In July 2015 you stated that you had commenced seeing Dr Firdevs Tat, clinical psychologist. Whilst Community Correction Services have briefly made contact with Dr Tat, information pertaining to your compliance with appointments and medication remains unknown.
12 You were provided advice with respect to the Road Trauma Awareness program. Despite numerous assertions that you would complete the program, this condition remains unsatisfied.
13 In a report dated 1 October 2014 the Community Corrections Officers at the Broadmeadows Community Correctional Services made the following recommendations:
In light of the ongoing difficulties CCS have faced attempting to engage with Mr Unel, it is respectfully recommended that the Order be cancelled and Mr Unel be resentenced on the original offending. Mr Unel has not benefited from the therapeutic aspect of the Order as he has not displayed any motivation to address his substance use within a community environment, thus this Service does not consider him a suitable candidate for a further Order at this stage.
14 I have taken into account the submissions made by your counsel and, in particular, your pleas of guilty, the responsibility which you have to care for your parents and the extent to which you have complied with the Community Correction Order. Nevertheless I propose to order that you be convicted of each of charges 1 and 2 and sentence you to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 1 month.
15
0
0
0