Director of Public Prosecutions v Sommer

[2022] VCC 148

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised

Not Restricted

Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 21-00930

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

LAUREN SOMMER

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	13 December 2021 & 18 February 2022
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 February 2022
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Sommer
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2022] VCC

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords: Kidnapping contrary to common law - Intentionally causing injury - Early plea of guilty - s 5(2H) of the Sentencing Act 1991 considered – Young offender - Complex mental health history – Borderline personality disorder – Post-traumatic stress disorder – General anxiety disorder

Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958; Sentencing Act 1991

Cases Cited: Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571; R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269

Sentence: Community Correction Order for a period of 18 months with conditions

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms C. Foot	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr M. Kozlowski	KPW Lawyers

HIS HONOUR:

1Lauren Sommer, you have pleaded guilty to the following charges:

i.Kidnapping contrary to common law.  The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years imprisonment; and 

ii.Intentionally causing injury, contrary to s 18 of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years imprisonment.

2You pleaded guilty at committal mention and your early plea of guilty has spared the victim of your offending the trauma of giving evidence in criminal proceedings.  Furthermore, your plea has facilitated the administration of criminal justice during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I have taken your high value plea of guilty into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.

3You have one prior court appearance in the Children's Court in 2013, which has no significance for sentencing purposes in your case.

4A prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows -

5On 3 July 2020, the victim of your offending Brodie Mitchell, who was then aged 19, went to Garett's house and early the following morning dispatched him on his bicycle to purchase $100 worth of methylamphetamine from a nearby drug dealer.  While Mitchell was purchasing the drugs Garett's bicycle was stolen.  On discovering this Mitchell panicked and used the drugs and did not return as agreed to Garett's house.

6An angry Garett enlisted his then neighbour Collison and you who had a car to assist in locating Mitchell.  At approximately 9 am you located Mitchell and he was forced into your vehicle.  He was then subjected a series of assaults in the vehicle and at a remote location in the Warby Ranges where he was stripped of his clothing and further assaulted.  He was then driven to your house where he was again assaulted.  Later that day he was released.

7Mitchell attended the Wangaratta Hospital where he was treated for a range of injuries, including a burn caused by you using a jet lighter on him.

8All three offenders were arrested on 7 July 2020 and interviewed by investigating police.  You made partial admissions to your offending and were charged and remanded in custody.

9It is plain from this summary that your offending was completely without justification and involved the extended use of violence on a defenceless and outnumbered young man.  He was subjected to a prolonged and no doubt terrifying ordeal and this sentence must be calculated to deter others from committing senseless acts of violence such as this.  You must also be punished for your offending.

10I have received in evidence a victim impact statement of your victim and it is plain from its contents that the offending has had a deeply traumatic effect upon him and he continues to be in fear.

11By operation of s3(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (‘the Act’) the offence of kidnapping is a category 2 offence and I am required to sentence you to a custodial disposition unless the exceptions provided for in s5(2H) of the Act are in engaged.

12I now turn to your personal circumstances.

13You were born on 6 November 1997 in Wangaratta and are now aged 24.  You have a twin brother.  Your parents separated when you were six years of age and following your mother re-partnering you and your brother were subjected to physical and emotional violence by your stepfather.  This abuse was reported to child welfare authorities and you and your brother returned to live with your birth father.

14You also suffered sexual abuse by a relative between the ages of seven and 11 years.

15Following a serious dispute with your brother you then commenced living with your grandmother.

16You left school in Year 10 following the death of your boyfriend in a car accident.  You are currently studying following the completion of a general education certificate at Albury Wodonga Community College.

17Your childhood and developmental years were seriously disrupted by your exposure to, and being the victim of, family violence, and, accordingly, the principles enunciated by the High Court of Australia in Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571 are engaged in your case.

18Furthermore, your disrupted development has resulted in your developing a complex mental health history leading to frequent hospitalisation and psychiatric treatment.

19I have received in evidence a substantial body of psychiatric and psychological material detailing your past and current mental health history, and I accept that you suffer from borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and general anxiety disorder.  You are currently medicated with a range of antipsychotic and mood stabilising drugs to treat your conditions.

20On 3 July 2020, the day before the offending, you were admitted to the emergency department at Wangaratta Hospital suffering suicidal ideation following an assault on you by your then partner.  You were prescribed pain killers and anti-anxiety medication.

21Based upon the medical evidence that I have referred to, the prosecution accepted in your case that the exception provided for in s5(2H)(c)(ii) of the Act is engaged in your case and accordingly I am not obliged to impose a custodial disposition upon your for the offence of kidnapping.

22It is also clear that the principles enunciated by the Court of Appeal in R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269 are engaged in your case, and I accept that at the time of your offending you were suffering from anxiety and the other mental illnesses referred to in the reports before the court.

23Whilst it is not clear to what degree your illnesses are linked to your offending, your overall capacity for reasoned decision making was then impaired by your illnesses.

24You are also a youthful offender with no relevant criminal history and I have no doubt that your future rehabilitation would be significantly harmed by the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment upon you for either or both the offences before the court.

25You have been assessed as suitable for a Community Correction Order and in my opinion the purposes of which this sentence is to be imposed will be met by the imposition of such a disposition.

26In the result the sentence of the court is as follows: 

27On both charges on the indictment you are convicted and sentenced to a community correction order for a period of 18 months on the core conditions provided for in the Sentencing Act and on the following special conditions.

28Firstly, that during the period of the order you be under the supervision of a community correction officer; 

29Secondly, that you undertake programs to deter reoffending as directed; and 

30Thirdly, that you undertake mental health assessment and treatment during the period of the order.

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