Director of Public Prosecutions v Taylor

[2018] VCC 2063

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 17-02164

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

CINDY TAYLOR

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	3 December 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Taylor
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 2063

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	MR G. COGHLAN with MS E. TUENO
For the Accused	MR J.P. THOMPSON

1HER HONOUR:  Cindy Ann Taylor, you have pleaded guilty before me to one charge of using a postal service to menace, harass or offend.  The facts underlying this offending are as follows.  It arose out of a situation involving Peter Dimitriou[1], who was a friend of one of your sons. But the particular complainant in this matter is his mother - yes, Ms Taylor?

[1] A pseudonym name

2OFFENDER:  On my son's behalf, and they have always corrected this, Peter was never ever (indistinct).

3HER HONOUR:  Okay.  Well, that is fine.  Thank you.  But in any event, the complainant in this matter is in fact Peter Dimitriou' mother, Effie Dimitriou[2].  She had taken out an Intervention Order against you on 4 December 2013, which order was to remain in force for five years.  On around 5 September, 2013, you wrote a letter to the office for the Minister of Education complaining about Effie Dimitriou, who was a registered teacher in Victoria.

[2] A pseudonym name

4Basically, you said that Ms Dimitriou should be suspended from teaching, because she had mental health difficulties, that she required psychiatric treatment and claimed that Ms Dimitriou and her husband abused their children with a reason that your son was in foster care and so forth.  As a result of this letter on 24 October 2013, the group manager of Inquiries and Litigation at the Victorian Institute of Teaching, Andrew Seely, spoke to Mrs Dimitriou about the letter.  She told him that she had an Intervention Order against you and that the letter had caused her to feel fear, intimidation and anxiety about her own safety and that of her husband and son.  Eventually, matters were referred to police and you were arrested on 19 June 2014.

5In a record of interview, you admitted there were Intervention Orders in place, and that you were seeking equity with regards to mental health assessments because Mrs Dimitriou had made allegations about your mental health, so you wanted her to undergo a mental health assessment as well.  You told police you believed that you were not contacting Mrs Dimitriou because the letter was going to the Minister for Education. 

6There has been quite a history surrounding you, Ms Taylor, and the Dimitriou family, involving intervention orders, breaches of those orders and you ultimately ending up spending time in prison.  Apart from your involvement in these proceedings with this family, you have never previously been in trouble with police.

7There is a wide divergence of opinion between yourself and Peter Dimitriou as to whether there has been a relationship between you.  You believe that there has been, but your counsel tells me that that divergence of opinion is now not a matter of concern, because Mr Dimitriou having given evidence in court against you, you accept that there can be no relationship between you.  Indeed, you said in court, "Even if he wanted to". 

8The court is somewhat comforted in this regard by the fact that you are now living in a stable situation with your two adult sons, one of whom spoke to Dr Aaron Cunningham who made an assessment of you.  And a report dated January 2014 by Dr Cunningham was one of two reports tendered on the plea.

9In that report, it is clear you detailed a number of concerns you have about yourself, involving autism and so forth.  It is very much my view that the stable situation you now are in forms the best protection both for yourself and for the Dimitriou family.  In those circumstances, it is my view that the best response by this court in order to maintain that situation is one whereby you give an undertaking, pursuant to section 20 of the Commonwealth Crimes Act 2014, which will last for a period of two years.

10It will be a condition that of that order that in six months' time, you attend upon the community forensic mental health service for assessment for the problem behaviour program and thereafter, undertake to engage in mental health treatment as directed.  Are you prepared to enter such an order?

11OFFENDER:  Yes, Your Honour.

12HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  Have a seat, Ms Taylor.  Pursuant to s.6AAA I declare that had Ms Taylor not pleaded guilty, I would have placed her on a Community Corrections Order for a two year period.  In reaching this conclusion as to the appropriate disposition, I had regard to a victim impact statement compiled by and filed on behalf of Mrs Dimitriou and I note the anxiety, the fear and the consternation that this offending has brought into her life.

13As I have said, my concern is to maintain the stable situation which, in my view, is the best protection for Mrs Dimitriou and her family, as well as the – wait one moment, please, Ms Taylor – as well as her – as Ms Taylor herself, with the appropriate assessment, at the appropriate time during that order.  Ms Taylor.

14OFFENDER:  Is it possible for anyone to please convey my apologies to Mrs Dimitriou for any inconvenience.  I didn't understand at the time.

15HER HONOUR:  That's okay.  I don't think so, at this stage.  I think matters have reached such a stage that that would actually cause her more upset than anything else.  But I appreciate that you've said that.  Thank you, Ms Taylor.  Yes.

16MS COGHLAN:  Thank you, Your Honour.  Just in relation to the wording of the undertaking to engage in treatment as directed.

17HER HONOUR:  Yes.

18MS COGHLAN:  Can I just ask that Your Honour also include – I should have said this earlier, but engage in treatment as recommended, or directed.

19HER HONOUR:  I beg your pardon.  I think that's better.

20MS COGHLAN:  Thanks, Your Honour.  Yes.

21HER HONOUR:  To engage in mental treatment as recommended.

22MS COGHLAN:  Yes, Your Honour.  Because it's likely to be a recommendation, rather than a direction.

23HER HONOUR:  I think I'll just leave it at recommended.  I think that's a much better word than directed.

24MS COGHLAN:  As Your Honour pleases.

25HER HONOUR:  So we'll say "as recommended".

26MS COGHLAN:  Thank you, Your Honour.

27HER HONOUR:  All right.  So, in six months, you go to Forensicare, the place that you know.  We might get a date.  Would you rather I left ‑ ‑ ‑

28DR REID:  That would be best, Your Honour, if it was left as somewhat imprecise, so that a triage (indistinct).

29HER HONOUR:  They've got to work out a date that suits them.  So, do I just – we just forward a copy of the order to Forensicare?

30DR REID:  Yes, that would be a good start.

31HER HONOUR:  All right.  That's the way to do it, and they will then contact Ms Taylor at the appropriate time?

32DR REID:  Yes, they can.

33HER HONOUR:  They can.

34MS COGHLAN:  Yes, Your Honour.  We'll follow that up.  Yes.

35HER HONOUR:  We'll follow that up, and – all right.  Well, we'll forward the – well, we'll do the order.

36MS COGHLAN:  Yes.

37HER HONOUR:  You'll get a copy of it, and it may ‑ ‑ ‑

38MS COGHLAN:  Yes, and we can then forward that on.

39HER HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ and then you could that on with a covering letter.

40MS COGHLAN:  Yes.

41HER HONOUR:  Rather than the court doing that.

42MS COGHLAN:  Yes, and perhaps if Your Honour was to express it in "within six months of the making of this order".

43HER HONOUR:  Yes, all right.

44MS COGHLAN:  Just to give it some sort of end point and timeframe.

45HER HONOUR:  All right.  So the condition is (1) to within six months attend the Problem Behaviour Program at Community Forensic Mental Health Service in Clifton Hill.

46MS COGHLAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

47HER HONOUR:  That's just for the sake of my associate.

48MS COGHLAN:  Yes.

49HER HONOUR:  And (2) to engage in mental health treatment as recommended.

50MS COGHLAN:  As Your Honour pleases.

51HER HONOUR:  And thanks for that.

52MS COGHLAN:  Thank you.

53HER HONOUR:  That's much better than directed.

54MR THOMPSON:  Happy with that, Your Honour.

55HER HONOUR:  Good.  All right.  Thank you.  Now, do you have the – it's usually the case that the order – do we do the order or – or can we do the order (indistinct), or do we?

56ASSOCIATE:  Yes.  It might just take me five or ten minutes.

57HER HONOUR:  No, that's fine.

58ASSOCIATE:  Yes.

59HER HONOUR:  I'm going to stand down whilst my associate sorts that out.  So if everyone could sit tight.  As soon as that's ready, I'll – I think that's better than me sitting ‑ ‑ ‑

60MS COGHLAN:  Yes.

61HER HONOUR:  Yes, Ms Taylor?

62OFFENDER:  I'm grateful for your understanding, Your Honour.  I think you're an awesome judge.  Thank you.

63HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Good.  Well, I'll take that nice compliment and have a think about it in my chambers whilst we're waiting for the order.  Thank you.

64MS COGHLAN:  Your Honour, just in relation to the criminal record.  Is Your Honour content to receive that in chambers?

65HER HONOUR:  Yes, I am.

66MS COGHLAN:  Thanks, Your Honour.

67HER HONOUR:  I am.  I want this bedded down, clearly, as does everybody.

68MS COGHLAN:  As Your Honour pleases.  Yes.

69HER HONOUR:  So, we'll do that.  Thank you.  I'll just stand down and I'll come back on the Bench, if people don't mind hanging around.

70MS COGHLAN:  Yes, Your Honour.

71HER HONOUR:  And we'll get this sorted.  Thank you very much.

72MS COGHLAN:  Thank you, Your Honour.

(Short adjournment.)

73HER HONOUR:  Thank you.  Yes, we have the form.  So we'll get you to sign that please, Ms Taylor.  I'll get Mr Thompson to take it down, go down with my associate.  I should say, Ms Coghlan, you and Mr Thompson are getting a 100 elephant stamps from listings when I reported that, and Dr Reid, actually, as well.

74MS COGHLAN:  I'm grateful for that, Your Honour.

75HER HONOUR:  This isn't actually a transcript I would enjoy reading very much.  Thanks very much, Ms Taylor.  I'll sign that.  Now, I just want to explain what it means, Ms Taylor, just so you know.  I mean, I'm sure you do, but it means for the next two years, you've just really got to be very careful, because if something goes wrong, if there's a problem, if there's contact that you shouldn't be making, all those sorts of things.  Any of this comes up again, it'll end up back here in court, in front of me.

76All right.  I'm sure it won't, but I just want you to really be aware, and I'm sure Mr Thompson will explain that to you very clearly.  It's the third today, isn't it?  So, have I been nice and clear?  You do understand?

77OFFENDER:  Yes, thank you.  I'm very (indistinct).

78HER HONOUR:  Good.  Thank you very much.  Good.  All right.  That's that.  We'll leave the Bench and I wish counsel a very Happy Christmas.

79MS COGHLAN:  Thanks, Your Honour.

80HER HONOUR:  And you too, Ms Taylor, and you too, Dr Reid.

81DR REID:  (Indistinct).

82HER HONOUR:  And everyone's instructors.  Thank you.  We will adjourn to 9.30 tomorrow morning.  Thank you.

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