Director of Public Prosecutions v Teasdale
[2017] VCC 2007
•21 December 2017
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised (Not) Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-17-01474
CR-17-01473
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| SCOTT ALEXANDER TEASDALE |
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JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE LAWSON | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 22 November 2017 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 21 December 2017 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Teasdale | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2017] VCC 2007 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW – SENTENCE
Catchwords: Common assault, theft, criminal damage and aggravated burglary – offences committed whilst on bail – offending relating to former partner – immediate custodial sentence imposed
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms D Karamicov | John Cain, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr N Leslie | Slink & Keating |
HER HONOUR:
1 Scott Alexander Teasdale, you pleaded guilty before me in respect to one charge of common assault, one charge of theft, one charge of criminal damage, and one charge of aggravated burglary. In addition, a summary charge, being Charge 16, unlawful assault, was transferred pursuant to s.145 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009, and you entered a plea of guilty with respect to that charge.
2 You also admitted a criminal record.
3 There are two prior court appearances. On 9 November 2011 at Frankston Magistrates’ Court, without conviction, you were fined a total of $1,300 with statutory costs of $69.70 for drive whilst disqualified, state false name, and fail to answer bail charges.
4 On 11 March 2014 at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court, you were convicted of possess methylamphetamine and ecstasy, possess a prohibited weapon without exemption or approval, and deal with property suspected to be the proceeds of crime and without conviction you were placed on a Community Correction Order for 12 months. In addition to the usual mandatory conditions, you were ordered to perform 150 hours of unpaid community work and to undergo treatment and rehabilitation for drug abuse and dependency.
5 Subsequently, you were dealt with for contravention of the Community Correction Order being non-compliance of the conditions and also further offending.
6 On 26 June 2017 at Frankston Magistrates’ Court, both the contravention of the CCO and the fresh offending was dealt with and I will refer to that matter shortly.
7 You were convicted of the contravention of the CCO and the new offending, and sentenced to a total effective sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment. A non-parole period was not fixed. There was a declaration of pre-sentence detention of 298 days. The sentence is due to expire on 28 December 2017.
8 The subsequent matters are relevant having regard to the principles of totality and I have had regard to the circumstances as set out in the summaries and the contravention report.
9 Turning to the matters for which you are currently before the court.
10 I will proceed to sentence you on the basis of the opening that was read at the plea hearing. Mr Leslie, your barrister, did not take any objection to the contents of that opening.
11 You are aged 30 and at the time of the offending, you were aged 29. The victim in this matter was someone whom you had known and with whom you had previously been intimately involved.
12 The opening states that you had known each other for about a year when the offending occurred and that you had maintained a friendship.
13 The context or background to the offending was that since about 2012, you have used methamphetamines daily. In April 2016, you attended a drug rehabilitation program known as Refocus. That facility is located in Toorak. You were released on bail by the Magistrates’ Court on 25 April 2016 conditional upon you participating in that program.
14 About a month into the program you left the facility without completing the course.
15 Shortly after leaving the facility, you attended the victim’s house in Hastings. During the visit, you were violent towards the victim and punched her to the head. Her son, who is aged 20, was at home and you made threats to the victim that you would hit him with a baseball bat if he came to her assistance. That behaviour caused the victim to be fearful of you.
16 Prior to the offending the subject of these charges, you had been told by the victim that she did not wish to speak with you any longer as you made her feel scared. That material was provided to the court by way of context evidence only and is not the subject of any of the charges on the indictment or the summary charge and you will not be punished in respect to that earlier behaviour.
17 Turning now to Charges 1 and 2 on the indictment, the common assault and theft charges. On 28 July 2016, you had been trying unsuccessfully to contact the victim via mobile phone. She was avoiding your calls and this made you angry.
18 Eventually, the victim spoke to you and told you that she was not going to be home that night. This was a ruse on her behalf. She returned home and dead-bolted the front gate and that was because of her fears that you might attend her home notwithstanding being told that she was not going to be home.
19 The victim had had CCTV footage installed at her home which displayed live footage on a screen but did not record. Whilst studying around midnight, she noticed somebody on the CCTV screen putting their arm over the fence to open the latch of her gate. The person jumped the gate and walked to the front door. The person banged on the bedroom window and front door.
20 When she answered her door, she saw you standing in the doorway. You barged straight into her home. You were angry and abused her for not meeting with you earlier. You said that you needed to say “goodbye” and that you intended to hand yourself into the police. You told her that you wanted to speak with her and asked her to come for a drive. Because of her concerns, she did not want to go with you but eventually she agreed.
21 You then left the victim's premises in her car, a Hyundai i35. You drove the car and she was the front seat passenger. You told her that you were going to hand yourself into police and that you wanted her to witness you doing so.
22 On the way to the police station you changed your mind and then drove towards your parents’ home. You believed the victim owed you money and you wanted to discuss this with your mother. The victim made it clear that she did not want to drive to your parents’ house and asked to be let out of the car.
23 You refused her request and as you were driving along Emerald Rise, Skye, approaching a roundabout, she decided that she would leave the car. She unlocked and opened the door. You tried to stop her by grabbing hold of her top to pull her back. There was a struggle but she managed to break free and jumped out of the moving car. During the struggle, her shirt was ripped and she lost control of her bladder and wet herself as a result of her fear. (Charge 1, common assault).
24 You then drove off in her car with her Apple iPhone 6. (Charge 2, theft).
25 The victim was able to hide from you and eventually was able to gain some help from neighbours who contacted police. She was hysterical and in a distressed state when police attended.
26 Turning now to Charge 3, criminal damage, and Summary Charge 16, unlawful assault. On 17 August 2016 at around 8 pm, the victim was at the Kmart store, Hastings. She was seated in her car in the carpark when she saw a white car pull up next to her vehicle. You got out of that white car and were saying words that she could not properly understand. Her car doors were locked but her windows were down. You then threw a milkshake that you were holding in your hand into her car, got back into your car and drove off. She was placed in fear by this conduct. (Summary Charge 16, unlawful assault). As you reversed, you scraped the passenger side of the victim’s car with the front area of your car. (Charge 3, criminal damage).
27 Turning to the final charge, Charge 4, aggravated burglary. On 29 August 2016, the victim was at her workplace at the Southern Tiles store located in Camberwell. She had locked the front door and had begun to gather her things in preparation for leaving. Soon after she locked the door, she heard a rattle coming from the front door. As she looked up, she saw you standing there trying to smash the glass pane in the front door. When she saw you, she immediately stood up and, in fear, ran towards the back of the store screaming. As she did so, she heard the glass smashing, and by the time she reached the back area of the store, you were standing over her. (Charge 4, aggravated burglary).
28 She found herself on the floor next to the back door, and as she came down, she hit her head on the door frame of the back door which caused a lump to her forehead. She was screaming in fear and you were saying things to her about her reporting previous incidents to the police. On this occasion, she was again in such fear that she lost control of her bladder and wet herself. You then walked back towards the counter and left the store.
29 On 1 September 2016, police arrested you and formally interviewed you. You answered “no comment” to all questions in the record of interview.
30 Mr Teasdale, your offending is serious and I have had regard to the relevant maximum penalties prescribed by Parliament and they are as follows:
·Charge 1 – common assault – five years’ imprisonment
·Charge 2 – theft – 10 years’ imprisonment
·Charge 3 – criminal damage – 10 years’ imprisonment
·Charge 4 – aggravated burglary – 25 years’ imprisonment
·Summary Charge 16 – unlawful assault – 25 penalty units or six months’ imprisonment, given that I am satisfied that an aggravating feature was present, namely that you assaulted a female.[1]
[1]Section 24(1)(a) of the Summary Offences Act 1966.
31 This offending occurred whilst you were on bail for other unrelated matters, and that is an aggravating feature.
32 This is a particularly serious example of aggravated burglary, having regard to the background and context to the matter and also the other charges involving unprovoked violence on your part against the victim.
33 I am satisfied that the circumstances of the aggravated burglary would have been very confronting and would have caused real terror to the victim. You broke the pane of glass at her workplace in order to enter the premises. You caused her to be fearful and injure herself as she was running away from your advance. This was the fourth occasion where you had acted aggressively and in a violent manner against the victim.
34 The victim was requested to make a victim impact statement but declined after consulting with her counsellor.
35 The charged acts constitute a continuing course of conduct by you against the victim and each of the occasions would have caused real fear.
36 In sentencing you, both general and specific deterrence are of considerable importance and the sentence must provide for the protection of the community. On behalf of the community, I formally denounce your behaviour.
37 Your background is such that you were born in Melbourne and you are the middle child of a sibship of three. An older brother, Robbie, died of a drug overdose earlier this year. I note that your mother, Cherlye, your stepfather, Chris, and sister, Christie, were all supportive of you and have been present during the plea hearings.
38 Your parents separated when you were an infant at about one year of age and you have had no contact with your father following his departure from your family. Your mother remarried approximately two years following the separation, and you have a good relationship with your stepfather. Your family members are all supportive of you, and have maintained regular contact with you whilst you were in jail. You have a good relationship with them. It is intended upon your eventual release that you will return to live with your family in Skye.
39 I have noted the history of trauma. I noted that you were sexually abused by a friend of the family when you were of a tender age, only eight, and you report the perpetrator was older than you. You did not disclose that to anyone at that time, but the incident was retriggered when you were attacked by two males walking home from a party when you were aged 16. You and a friend were assaulted. The assailants contacted your respective parents, making threats and demands before releasing you. You had a further traumatic experience at age 21, when you were stabbed after getting into an argument at a local shop with a junkie. That later incident prompted you to seek some counselling for your history of sexual abuse as you recognised that you had unresolved issues stemming from these traumas that were causing you emotional and psychological disturbance.
40 You attended several schools throughout your education and there was some bullying which meant that you had to move from one primary school. You completed Year 9 at Frankston High School and you are reported to be an average student. You were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and were medicated with Ritalin whilst at primary school.
41 Following completion of Year 9, you began working as a concreter and have remained with the same employer, Meridin Concrete, for the past seven years. You hope to return to this employment once you are released.
42 Whilst in custody, you have been working. More recently at Loddon Prison Precinct, you have worked as a billet in the prison’s bulk stores area.
43 You have participated in a number of rehabilitative and vocationally based programs and enjoy general good health.
44 You were assessed by David Ball, psychologist, and his report dated 16 November 2017 was tendered as well as an earlier psychological report prepared by Ms Carla Ferrari dated 19 March 2017. I have read all that material by way of background.
45 David Ball assessed your mental state and he did not think that there was any frank mental illness such as psychotic ideation, hallucinations or delusions. Your IQ has been assessed to fall within the normal range. He diagnosed you with substance use disorder in remission in a controlled environment.
46 Both Mr Ball and Ms Ferrari confirm the link between your offending and your abuse of drugs.
Mitigating factors
47 In sentencing you, I have to have regard to all the mitigating factors that have been put by your counsel, Mr Leslie. I accept that you entered an early plea of guilty that has real utility. What is important about that is that the victim has not been required to give evidence at committal or trial. You have saved the court the inconvenience, costs and expense of a trial and therefore you have facilitated justice and your sentence will be discounted accordingly.
48 I accept that the pleas are evidence of some remorse and that you now accept responsibility for your wrongdoing. Your prospects of rehabilitation are guarded. I noted that you were in remission in terms of the substance use disorder but that is in the context of being in a prison, a controlled environment. It is clear to me that you do have a significant addiction to methylamphetamine and that was what was partly driving this offending. You had only attended the Refocus rehabilitation program for a period of one month and it is obvious that you need to commit longer term to rehabilitation in order to deal with your underlying offending behaviour. It is important that you address that for the future.
49 Also you need to consider your attitude towards women with whom you have had intimate relationships when those relationships break down and your communicating with people whom you have had relationships with. You have got to learn to deal with your anger and also you need to develop more respect for relationships towards women in the future. Your offending was a protracted form of offending against the victim and the effect overall would have been terrifying for her.
50 There is a prospect however that once you are released, you will be able to go home to your family who are very supportive for you and your mother and stepfather are here today as well as your sister but you will have to commit to long-term treatment. Overall I am optimistically guarded about your prospects for the future.
51 In sentencing you, I must impose just punishment. I consider that the charge of aggravated burglary to be the most serious of the offending and a serious example of that offence. You attended upon the victim’s workplace, gained entry by smashing the window and in all the circumstances I consider it is in the mid-range of seriousness for this sort of serious offence and that will be the base sentence.
52 General deterrence and denunciation of your conduct are very important as well as you need to be specifically deterred from offending in this nature in the future and there is also a need to provide for community protection.
53 I have noted that you are currently serving an 18-month sentence that was imposed at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on 26 June 2017 and I have had regard to the circumstances of the offending and also had regard to the principles of totality and proportionality in formulating this sentence.
54 You were on bail at the time of the commission of some of the offending. Therefore, s.16(3)(c) of the Sentencing Act 1991 applies and the sentence to be imposed must be cumulative unless the court orders otherwise and I do propose to do so.
55 Mr Leslie sought a further moderate term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, to be followed by a Community Correction Order or, alternatively, a further straight term of imprisonment.
56 Ms Karamicov, on behalf of the Crown, emphasised how serious the offending was, its gravity, the effect upon the victim and the general circumstances all mean that a sentence greater than one year is warranted. She sought that the term of imprisonment be immediately served.
57 Overall, I have come to the conclusion having regard to the gravity of the offending, your history and the effect of the offending on the victim that a sentence of imprisonment to be immediately served is the only appropriate disposition.
58 I have provided a non-parole period that is shorter than it would otherwise have been because of your efforts towards rehabilitation.
59 I will make the following formal court orders now:
·Charge 1 – common assault – convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
·Charge 2 – theft – convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
·Charge 3 – criminal damage – convicted and sentenced to three months' imprisonment.
·Charge 4 – aggravated burglary – convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
·Summary Charge 16 – unlawful assault – convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.
60 Charge 4 is the base sentence and I order that six months in respect to Charge 1 and one month in respect to Charge 3 are cumulative upon each other and upon the sentence imposed on Charge 4, making a total effective sentence of three years and seven months' imprisonment. I fix a non-parole period of 18 months. I direct that the sentence imposed on you be served concurrently with the state sentence that you are presently undergoing.
61 I make the following s.6AAA declaration. But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a term of imprisonment of five years to serve three years.
62 I make the order for compensation sought in the sum of $780, payable to Southern Tiles.
63 Finally, any licence that you hold will be cancelled and you will be disqualified from holding a licence for a period of 12 months in respect to Charge 2, pursuant to s.89(4) of the Sentencing Act 1991.
64 There is no pre-sentence detention, is there?
65 MR LESLIE: No.
66 HER HONOUR: No.
67 MR LESLIE: Unfortunately we arrived at that conclusion on the previous occasion, Your Honour.
68 HER HONOUR: Yes, yes, all right, good. So that concludes those sentencing remarks and we will now discontinue the video link. Thank you, Mr Teasdale.
69 All right, I have signed the order so you can provide the order to the Crown prosecutor and we can adjourn the court, thank you.
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