Director of Public Prosecutions v Thompson

[2024] VCC 1934

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

SEXUAL OFFENCES LIST

Case No. CR-23-00173
Indictment No. N11583806

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

DANIEL JACK THOMPSON

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE GAYNOR
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF PLEA HEARING:	5 February 2024; 10 May 2024 and 18 June 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	29 November 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Thompson
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 1934

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Sexual assault of a child under 16 – sexual penetration of a child under 16 – digital penetration – no prior or subsequent convictions – offender suffers from complex chemical sensitivity – court satisfied that condition would be aggravated by period of custody            

Legislation Cited:      Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic)

Cases Cited:-        

Sentence:                  6 months’ imprisonment, 2-year Community Corrections Order to commence on expiration of term of imprisonment.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr S. Marshall	Solicitor for the Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Offender	Ms O. Thompson	Bowler & Co.

HER HONOUR:

1Daniel Jack Thompson, you have pleaded guilty before me to six charges of sexual assault of a child under 16 and sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16.  The facts underlying your offending are as follows. 

2At the time of the offending you were aged between 26 and 28 years of age and the complainant was aged 14 and 15 years of age.  The offending took place between 1 December 2018 and 31 July 2020.  The complainant's family initially lived in Tasmania on a farm estate owned by the complainant's mother.  The complainant lived there with her mother, brother and father.  In 2016, you approached the complainant's mother looking for work and she employed you as a gardener and to assist in managing the estate, after a year you became extremely close to the complainant and her family.

3In about 2017, the complainant's mother's health declined after she was diagnosed with cancer and required surgery.  Around this time, she separated from her husband, and he lived in a separate house on the estate.  At this time, you became more involved with the family, assisting with babysitting and often staying at the estate, and you and your father, Murray Thompson, who was also close to the complainant's mother, would help look after the children while the complainant's mother was unwell.  While in Tasmania, you involved the complainant in watching an anime video, which was inappropriate and contained sexual conduct and nudity. 

4Around December 2018, when the complainant was 14, the family moved to Victoria and you and your father also moved to Victoria, you taking up residence in a caravan park outside the complainant's family home.  You slept in the caravan and sometimes in the complainant's family home in the loungeroom.  In around mid-2019, you moved into a caravan at a caravan park, but still spent a lot of time at the complainant's home, staying overnight and sleeping in the caravan out the front. 

5You and the complainant spent a lot of unsupervised time together, you setting up a study in her room and the complainant's mother often finding you in the family room in the middle of the night.  You and the complainant regularly played the fantasy game, Dungeon & Dragons, which games often had romantic and sexual aspects, the characters of yourself and the complainant often having sexual and romantic directions. 

6While the complainant was 12 and 13 and living in Tasmania, up to the time she moved to Victoria, you said things to her such as she had child-bearing hips or anime boobs, that if she was not gay (the complainant already identified by being gay at this time) you would marry her and you were going to carry her over the altar, that she was special, that she made you feel love again, she was the only reason you were living there and the fact she was under 16 was the only reason you were not going any further.

7By way of background, you encouraged the complainant to masturbate and despite her refusing, you repeatedly encouraged her.  On another occasion, at a public event, you told other people the complainant was your girlfriend.  This was after the family had moved to Victoria.  You also signed the complainant up to a three-month gym membership between December 2019 and March 2020, encouraging her to use the exercise bike for up to three hours, which the complainant then believed later encouraged the eating disorder she had at the time, she weighing only about 40 kilograms.  From 2018, you became more touchy with the complainant, instigating games with her, which you described as roughhousing, which included you beginning to touch her breasts, so that she started wearing hardwire bras to deter you.  During the course of the offending, you told the complainant not to tell her mother what was happening as it would just stress her out more, that it was not worth telling anyone, and it was not as if you had raped her. 

8When the complainant was nearly 16, you told her she was going to be a 'legal lolly' which referred to older sexualised female anime characters who are 18, but look much younger. 

9In the leadup to the final charge on the Indictment, Charge 7, you told the complainant you had demons in you which would force you to do it, that you could not control them and that you were helping the complainant deal with her body issues, she having an eating disorder, and giving her sexual experience so she would be ready when she had a relationship with someone. 

10Charge 1 occurred between December 2018 and July 2019, when the complainant was 14 or 15 years old and in Year 8 at school.  You were alone in her bedroom and you began a game that involved the complainant trying to grab your hands while you were trying to touch her body.  She tried to pull your hands away, but you kept trying to push your hands down her body towards her vagina, with the complainant, at the same time, trying to push your hands away.  You then reversed roles, forcing the complainant to touch her own vagina by grabbing her wrists and forcing them into her thigh area, although you were not able to make her do this.  You then hugged the complainant from behind and grabbed her breasts over her clothing, claiming it was accidental.  During this incident, you pushed the complainant against the wire bedframe, causing bruising to her back.  You then squeezed her on the underpart of her thighs, joking that you could wrap both of your hands around her leg, and then made the complainant sit on your lap, kissing her on the cheek and neck, although she did not want you to do this.  These actions underly Charge 1 on the Indictment of sexual assault.

11Charge 2, sexual assault, also occurred between December 2018 and February 2020, when the complainant was aged 14 or 15 and at home, at a time when she had swapped rooms with her brother.  At about 7.00 pm you came into that room and started talking to her, at which time she was feeling vulnerable and upset and then the two of you hugged.  You then began touching her body, then grabbed both of her wrists, holding them against her chest and pinning her to the bed and using a free hand to touch her thighs and squeeze her breasts over her clothing.  This incident went on for about 20 minutes.  You tried to put your hands under her shirt to touch her breasts, but she stopped you by placing her arm across the front of her body and you told her that you would wait for her to be comfortable with that.  You then began touching her stomach and grabbed her wrists and hands, pinning them above her head and continuing to touch her body.  You then released her hands but pinned her to the bed by her shoulder.  She tried pushing you off, but you grabbed her hair and pinned her to the bed.  You then touched and rubbed her vagina, attempting to put your fingers inside it, and then rubbing her vagina over her underwear for about five minutes.  You then stopped, accused her of not enjoy it, and then apologised to her before leaving the room.

12Charge 3, sexual assault, occurred about a week later in the complainant's bedroom.  You came into her room and although she did not want to talk to you, you talked to her, and the two of you ended up playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons.  You asked the complainant if you could massage her legs and she agreed, as her health issues included muscular aches and pains.  She thought you were only going to massage her calves, you did this, then massaged her thigh area, although she did not want you to.  You then became aggressive while massaging her thighs, doing this so roughly the complainant later suffered bruising.  You then got into bed with the complainant and started cuddling as she faced away from you, placing an arm around her arms, pinning her arms to her chest, and forcing yourself onto her, using your other hand in a massaging movement to rub her vagina over her underwear.  The complainant cried and told you to stop and kicked out and on occasion was successful in doing so.  You became agitated and then laughed at her and continued to rub her vagina for about 20 minutes.  You laughed again after the complainant again asked you to stop, saying it was fine and you were just joking around, she ultimately telling you to 'fuck off' and leave her alone, but you staying in the room and cuddling her.

13Charge 4 occurred between July 2019 and February 2020, when the complainant was about 14 or 15 and in Year 9 at school.  She was in your caravan and the two of you had just finished a game of Dungeons & Dragons.  The complainant asked if she could sleep in a separate bed at the caravan, as there were two single beds.  You said no and pushed her against a wall, dragging her onto your bed and hugging her.  You touched her breasts over her clothing and then proceeded to wrestle with her and continuing to touch her breasts, and at one stage during this calling her 'a whore'.  You kept touching the complainant's body, including her vaginal area over her underwear, then tried to get into her underwear but were unable to do so.  You then continued to rub the complainant's vagina over her underwear for about five to six minutes, then stopped and cuddled her until she fell asleep in the caravan.  In the morning, when she woke, the complainant discovered her clothing had been disturbed so that her T-shirt was hitched above her breasts, which were now exposed, and her skirt appeared to have been pulled down. This was a charge of sexual assault.

14Charge 5, another charge of sexual assault occurred between July 2019 and February 2020, when the complainant was about 15 years old and in your caravan.  At about midnight, the two of you played Dungeons & Dragons, the game ending about 4.00 am, and the two of you then discussing the poet, Edgar Allan Poe, in particular how he was married to his cousin, you telling the complainant you could see parallels between the two of you.  You touched the complainant, pushing her underwear down to her upper thigh area so her vagina was exposed, and you rubbed her vagina with your fingers.  The complainant cried and told you to stop, but you kept going.  Then afterwards you apologised to her, then blamed her for encouraging you, stating you knew you needed to stop.  Ultimately, the complainant ended up apologising to you for leading you on.

15Charge 6, sexual assault, again occurred between July 2019 and February 2020, when the complainant was 15 and on the bed in her room.  You came in and straddled her, telling her to take off her shirt, which she did, thinking that if she did this you would leave her alone.  You then told her to take off her bra, but she refused, ultimately you unhooked her bra and got it off her.  You then forced  yourself onto the complainant's exposed breasts, sucking, kissing and biting her for about five minutes.  The complainant did not react, and you stopped.  During this incident, you joked about what you were doing, telling the complainant she was maternal looking and mimicking breastfeeding to her.  The complainant, understandably, felt extremely uncomfortable and did not speak to you for some days after this incident and you then approached her and told her she was being ridiculous, that you were sorry and did not mean to make her feel uncomfortable. 

16Charge 7, a charge of sexual penetration, occurred between February and July 2020, when the complainant was 15 years old and had just started at a new high school.  You were undertaking a course and spending less time with her.  One night, she went to your caravan at about midnight to play Dungeons & Dragons and as soon as the game was over you touched her body while she was in her seat.  You told her that her 16th birthday was coming, and that you would not hold back anymore but let your demons take over.  You also told the complainant she must have wanted something to happen because she was not wearing shorts under her skirt.  You told her you deserved her first kiss and you then kissed her on the mouth.  The complainant clenched her teeth together and tried to push you away as you tried to put your tongue in her mouth.  You then touched her breasts over her clothing, then pushed her underwear down to her upper-thigh area, exposing her vagina, then rubbed the opening of her vagina for about two minutes.  You then penetrated her vagina with your finger for about 30 seconds.  The complainant told you to 'fuck off' and left the caravan.

17These matters came to light in about December 2020, when the complainant went to stay with her father, telling him that she had had an argument with you.  She left a note for her mother in which she wrote that she did not feel safe at home, and that when her mother had asked whether you had done anything more than be overly affectionate to her, she had lied. She said she had tried everything, but you did not listen.  The complainant's mother rang her daughter, and the complainant told her you had kissed her, but disclosed nothing further, other than saying she never wanted you to return to the house.  Eventually the complainant's parents confronted you with the note, you stating that what was in it was true and also, that it was all your fault.  You were then told to leave and not come back. 

18The complainant's mother then suggested to your father that you write an apology letter and about a week later you and he went to the complainant's home, where your father handed over a seven-paged typed document from yourself to the complainant.  However, he asked that the complainant and her mother hand over their phones so they could not photograph the letter.  Eventually however the complainant's mother managed to make a photocopy of the letter.  She handed the original letter back to your father and he burnt it.  Later, after further discussions between the complainant's mother and your father, you emailed a one-page document stating that in 2020 you had sexually molested the complainant and that you understood your actions were 'a form of sexual assault'.  Further questions from the complainant were given to your father and four or five days later he returned to the complainant's home, reading out the answers you had provided.  The complainant's mother ultimately managed to retrieve the notes from your father's pants pockets, which she photographed.

19Eventually the matter was reported to police and a VARE obtained from the complainant in 2021, by which time you and your father had moved to Queensland.  At first, the complainant said she was not ready to take further action, but in April 2022, told police she was in a position for the investigation to proceed.  In a pretext recording on 29 April 2022 between you and the complainant, you made admissions to the offending, but denied remembering penetrating her.  Police interviewed you in Queensland on 5 June 2022 and in a record of interview you made various admissions to sexual offending but denied ever penetrating the complainant. 

20This matter has had a protracted hearing history.  Between 10 November 2022 and 9 February 2023, there were four committal mention hearings, the matter, on 9 February 2023 proceeding by way of straight hand-up brief and you entering a plea of not guilty.  On 9 March 2023, the matter was administratively adjourned at an initial directions hearing in the County Court.  There was a further directions hearing on 17 April and then on 23 June 2023 and 9 September 2023, sentence indications before me proceeded, which were adjourned in order for the defence to obtain a psychological report.  On 15 November 2023, at a further sentence indication hearing before myself, I indicated that a maximum and minimum term of some disparity would be appropriate, but I was reluctant to give figures without further information. 

21You were arraigned and pleaded guilty on 7 December 2023 and on 5 February 2024 the first plea hearing took place before me.  There were two further hearings in this matter, as I required that, in particular, certain medical reports in relation to your physical condition needed to be obtained. 

22You have no prior or subsequent convictions.

23The complainant compiled a victim impact statement and described how her mother became ill and was diagnosed with cancer, how her parents separated, and as a result you would take care of her from when she was aged 12, along with her younger brother.  She said you were trusted by her parents but described you as being overly affectionate and making inappropriate jokes and wrote 'when I look back now I feel that I was treated like a mix between a girlfriend and a pet this made me feel demeaned and humiliated'.  She said she felt betrayed by you, that you would act in an inappropriate sexual manner towards her.  You would say you were just expressing affection and that it would cure her because she had previous trauma, you told her she was on the spectrum and a cold person, and she stated, 'he made me feel like I was doing something wrong'.  She said, 'I would always end up comforting him'.  She spoke of developing an eating disorder over this time, at one stage weighing 38 kilograms, but you encouraging her to exercise for hours a day and consume only energy drinks.  She described the aggressive physical nature of your attacks upon her.  She now suffers nightmares, fears that you may kidnap her, which you apparently told her you would, suffers panic attacks and muscle spasms that cause neck pain, flashbacks when she watches YouTube and Facebook and no longer has social connections.  She stated she feels emotionally stunted, writing:

'I have my family and my parents although my mother is so affected by what has happened she too has become extremely unwell.  My family have been so severely impacted that my mother is on medication and has been diagnosed with PTSD and memory loss, my mother is riddled with guilt … she thinks she is a bad mum'.  She wrote further, 'Mum can’t work as I need her to be with me all the time and she is on suicide watch for me 24 hours a day.'

24She concluded:

'This has ruined our lives, it is debilitating I am severely impacted by what has happened to me, I am mentally traumatised, I am isolated and I feel robbed of my life and my future'.

25I now turn to your personal circumstances.  You are now 32 years of age, the only child of your parents' marriage, they separating when you were 12, and over the years you lived with each parent for a time.  However, your mother suffered significant mental health issues, in particular anxiety, and that affected you in childhood.  She now lives in New South Wales and you live with your father in Queensland. 

26You are clearly a person of considerable intelligence.  You completed Year 12 and there were no issues with your academic performance, but you had difficult social problems at school and struggled to make friends.  Ultimately you completed a Certificate III in Agriculture after finishing school and have had employment in this field, including employment with the complainant's family.  You are now in receipt of the Disability Support Pension, which you supplement by working at a supermarket, stacking and sorting shelves and taking stock.  You apparently take about two four-hour shifts a week.

27You live with your father in a caravan which was purchased by your mother, and I also received a letter from your father, who is aged 68 and also in receipt of a Disability Support Pension.  In his letter dated 1 February 2024, your father wrote that you were living in Far North Queensland, with your caravan parked at a friend's property, after having spent the previous one and a half years managing a nearby property, where the two of you were gardening, mowing and performing a variety of odd jobs.

28Of significance to this sentencing exercise is that both you and your father, in 1999, were subject to extreme poisoning by way of toxic chemicals, when the slab of the family home was accidentally saturated with a toxic pesticide.  As a result, both you and your father developed what is known as 'multiple chemical sensitivity'.  Both of you have developed immune and neurological issues which are ongoing, and involve a low tolerance to and a high sensitivity to general chemicals and pesticides.  As a result, both of you suffer inflammation, limited mobility, hypersensitivity, and stress also triggers a strong inflammatory response.  You have been treated for this since mid-2004 by Dr Mark Donohoe, who wrote, in a report dated 17 June 2005, that you, as a result of the accidental pesticide exposure you have suffered persistent inflammatory symptoms and joint pain and pathology testing had confirmed this inflammation and alteration of your immune response.  He stated:

'Daniel is adversely affected by exposure to a range of common chemicals, including pesticides and insolvents, cleaning agents and common science and art room chemicals.  Daniel is also at risk of adverse reactions to vaccines, as these include adjuvants to trigger immune responsiveness, apart from the active agent in the vaccine.'

29In a second report dated 21 May 2009, Dr Donohoe wrote that the chemical sensitivity had continued. 

30In a longer report dated 24 June 2016, he wrote:

'Daniel has suffered severe symptoms of sensory sensitivity, pain, and joint inflammation following exposure to chemicals, and exacerbated by exposure to high electromagnetic fields.'

31He also wrote:

'[Your] best health is relatively poor by comparison with the majority of his peers and he suffers pain, fatigue, joint inflammation, psychological distress (varying from depression to extreme and uncontrollable anger).'

He attributes this to your chemical exposure as a child.

32He noted that relatively small exposure to chemicals triggered significant symptomatology, writing:

'… Daniel's health remains poor and even the slightest exposures to chemicals or high-strength electromagnetic fields is sufficient to cause disabling fatigue, weakness, marked sleep disturbances with abnormal and disturbing dreams, and psychological effects including anxiety, unreasonable anger, and secondary depression. The pain he experiences after exposure can be severe and disabling.'

33A final report from Dr Donohoe in October of this year noted you had not been seen by him for many years, but the expectation was these afflictions would have continued and he devoted much of the report linking possible psychological disturbances arising from the toxic exposure to the offending.  I am not satisfied Dr Donohoe has the psychiatric or psychological expertise to render such an opinion or that it has such weight that it should be acted upon by this court.

34You also attended upon psychologist, Dr Mathew Barth, who, in his report dated 9 November 2023, believed that you had attributed 'a precocious sexuality to the complainant, a deviant interest in her sexual development and a poor concept of appropriate interpersonal boundaries'.  He assessed you as being in the moderate risk category for sexual recidivism, this being 'most relevant with regards to known underage female victims'.  He believed the risk could be reduced should you complete a specialist sex-offender treatment program.  Dr Barth also diagnosed you as suffering a major depressive disorder with anxious distress and current episodes of moderate severity, warranting continued psychological treatment and support.  He said your personality was marked by entrenched introversion and a pervasive social detachment with poor social skills, and an idiosyncratic interaction style with others.  He said your difficulty in maintaining close relationships had been reinforced by your periods of living in isolated rural areas largely necessitated, it would seem, by your physical condition.  He believed you had traits of autism and recommended assessment for this.

35I also received a report from the psychologist, Lex Peters, who has provided ongoing psychological treatment of you from 25 March 2023, following a referral from your general practitioner for depression and anxiety.  He wrote:

'Daniel shows clear evidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Post traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression with Suicidal Ideation, Persistent Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Generally Poor Physically (sic) Health with low muscle tone and obesity.'

36He noted you had experienced a childhood of severe emotional deprivation, financial poverty, social isolation and some degree of parental neglect and emotion resulting in complex post-traumatic stress disorder.  He noted you display a high level of vocabulary and speech and a superior level of understanding, but 'he has very little capacity to understand social cues and interact fluently with others'.  He believed you displayed a functional level of emotional and physical control and, in his opinion, you do not present a risk of harm to others at this time.  He gave his opinion that '[you] would be at a high risk of completing suicide if sentenced to a term of imprisonment' and recommended a community-based order.  Due to the complex and unusual physical difficulties and afflictions you suffer, I sought a report from Justice Health as to their capacity to manage you in custody where clearly, the use of chemicals, particularly for cleaning, is prevalent and it could be presumed you would be at significant risk of serious ill health as a consequence of being placed in such a physical setting.  Justice Health was unable, in my view, to provide me with any helpful or relevant information as to their capacity to handle your condition in a custodial setting.

37You present as a difficult sentencing proposition.  I am satisfied that placement by you in custody presents unique difficulties by reason of your chemical sensitivity and I am satisfied there is a high likelihood your condition would be aggravated and involve a degree of ill health and suffering well beyond that experienced by any, much less, the normal prisoner.  I regard this as a significant mitigating factor to take into account in your case.  I am also satisfied you have ongoing psychological difficulties, including a high probability that you suffer from autism spectrum disorder, which I must regard as having some part to play in your offending against the complainant and the insensitive and callous manner in which you treated her over an extended period of time, notwithstanding her clear resistance and rejection to your actions.

38I also received as I have said a letter from your father, who suffers the same condition as you.  You and he together survive on a Disability Support Pension living as I have said in a caravan in remote Northern Queensland.  Your father wrote that he believed he would have difficulty financially maintaining this arrangement were you incarcerated and financially unable to contribute.  I do not regard the potential hardship suffered by your father as meeting the extremely high standard required in Victoria for family hardship to be taken into account as a mitigating factor, but accept this would cause you additional anxiety in serving a term of imprisonment.

39I should also have added that I received a psychological report from Dr Lauren Ducat, a chief psychologist and manager with Forensicare.  In her report, dated 3 May 2024, she noted you have never had an intimate relationship or any sexual experience with any person other than the complainant. 

40You have no history of taking alcohol or using substances and importantly, at interview, you expressed shame and remorse to her for your offending.  She said you showed a 'nuanced understanding of the impact on the victim, and the distorted thinking he engaged in at the time of the offences which furthered [your] behaviour'.  That was described as you becoming very involved with the family, seeing yourself as a guardian, protector and friend to it, and developing obsessive delusions about alleviating the complainant's pain and suffering which you said provided you with a sense of purpose.  She wrote:

'… [You] developed distorted thinking patterns about his simply using physical touch to alleviate her pain, then to teaching her how to interact with others, then providing her with sexual experiences that would boost her self-esteem and give her confidence going into future relationships.'

I hasten to add it is clear this behaviour had precisely the opposite effect on the complainant and caused her a great deal of suffering.

41You agreed with Dr Ducat that your behaviour would now be perceived as grooming.  You agreed you had abused your power with the complainant, and shown a lack of sensitivity to her age and vulnerability and this included the content you showed her online.  Dr Ducat wrote:

'In hindsight, he could express the nature of his thinking was distorted and self-serving, highlighting the harm his behaviour would have caused to the victim and her mother. He did not present with ongoing justification for his behaviour, but instead views it as evidence of inherent defectiveness.'

42Dr Ducat did not believe there was any enduring evidence of deviant sexual interest towards children or teenagers, or of an antisocial attitude which condoned another person's boundaries.  She wrote:

'His offending arose in a specific situational context in which he derived a sense of importance from his "mentoring" role with the [complainant] and her mother, a lack of other sexual outlets, and the availability of the [complainant], whom he had groomed over a period of time. Although [she accepts your] explanation that [you] may not have intended to use [your] position of power to groom the [complainant], [your] comments towards her indicate that [you] did understand she was continuing to see you and visit you in your caravan because of the special privileges she received from [you] and [you] used [your] position of power to ensure she did not tell her mother.'

43Dr Ducat also assessed your risk of engaging in future sexual violence as moderate, believed future offending was likely to be opportunistic and based on a history of grooming of possibly both child and family.  She did believe you had developed some insight into your behaviour and you no longer present with the marked distortions about your behaviour or that of the complainant.

44

She believed you would be a vulnerable prisoner who would struggle to assimilate.  She said your mental state would need to be assessed as a priority, with indicators of depression and suicidal ideation and these would need to be carefully monitored.  I should have added that all practitioners who have examined you have found a history of suicidal ideation, particularly in relation to this offending, although this has not appeared to have progressed to actual plans by you to

self-harm.

45As I have said, this is a complex sentencing exercise. 

46It is quite clear that your offending was longstanding, continuous, and had a devastating effect upon the complainant who was young, vulnerable, undergoing severe family difficulties and it would seem severe associated psychological distress.  There is no doubt that you groomed her, abused the trust both she and her mother placed in you, stood over her and subjected her to emotional and sexual abuse which has continued to affect her and her mother to a most serious extent to the present day.  The offending was serious and protracted.  Again, I apologise to the complainant for the time it has taken to resolve this matter, but unfortunately both your psychological and physical conditions required continued exploration.  It would appear that, as a result of the chemical sensitivity you contracted as a child which has affected you both physically and emotionally, additionally it appears highly likely that you suffer from autism spectrum disorder, you have lived a secluded and isolated life, you have difficulty forming relationships with others and therefore it seems the offending against the complainant arose in the context of a specific scenario involving the difficulties the family were going through and your own specific and significant difficulties.  I do accept you are remorseful for your offending and have developed some insights in the process of being arrested and charged.  You have also undertaken counselling.  You have no prior convictions and there has been no offending since.  You live in isolation and poverty with your father in Far Northern Queensland, and while the psychological material has assessed you as a moderate risk of re-offending, this has more to do with the innate difficulties you appear to suffer in interaction with people generally and the limitations imposed by your likely autism spectrum disorder.  That is, there appears to be a likelihood that you misunderstand, misinterpret and bring into play distorted thinking in relation to others.  You are not found to have any deviant sexual proclivities.  I am concerned that a term of imprisonment would involve psychological and physical injury of quite an extreme level.  You have also been assessed as suitable for placement on a community corrections order and have continued to express a willingness to engage in therapeutic assistance. 

47As against this, as I have said, this is a serious protracted offending against a vulnerable young complainant and involves offending against a minor, which always requires a court to pay particular attention to the principles of general deterrence, punishment and denunciation.  It is my view that the particular psychological and physical difficulties you suffer render you a less suitable vehicle for general deterrence.  I should note that the prosecutor, in what I regard as a very fair submission, acknowledged the very particular difficulties that you face, nevertheless she submitted the offending was of such seriousness that I should deal with you by way of imposition of a term of imprisonment involving maximum and minimum terms.  By contrast, the defence submitted those same difficulties meant I should deal with you by way of a community corrections order.  Taking all these matters into account I have decided ultimately, I should deal with you by way of a disposition that involves both a term of imprisonment which reflects the seriousness and protracted nature of the complainant, together with the release on a community corrections order.  The term of imprisonment will be far less than would ordinarily be imposed for offending of this kind, but that is in light of the very particular and significant difficulties I understand you will face in a prison environment.

48It is extremely important that your defence team provide to the prison all reports relating both to your psychological condition as well as your chemical sensitivity condition.  Further, it is important that those taking charge of you be aware of the history of suicidal ideation and take steps to ensure that this is properly monitored.  I therefore sentence you as follows.

49On each of Charges 1 through to 6, I place you on a community corrections order for a period of two years. 

50On Charge 7, you are sentenced to six months' imprisonment and a community corrections order for two years.  The community corrections orders will run concurrently and will commence at the expiration of your term of imprisonment.

51Can you stand up please Mr Thompson.

52Before I can place you on a community corrections order I must first explain the order and conditions of it and can only place you on the order with your consent.  They are that:

a)Once you are released from prison you must report to the Community Corrections Service within two working days of that release. 

b)Whilst on this order you may not leave Victoria without the permission of the Community Corrections Office.  Now there can be arrangements made for you to live interstate, but you have to make those arrangements first.

c)Whilst on the order you must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment.

d)You must report to and receive visits from the Community Corrections Office.

e)You must not attend upon the Community Corrections Office under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

f)You must obey all lawful directions of the Community Corrections Office.

g)I am going to order that you undertake 200 hours of unpaid community work.

h)You are to undergo a sex offenders treatment program in the community.

i)I am going to order that you also undertake mental health treatment for mental health difficulties.

53Are you prepared to enter this order?

54OFFENDER:  Yes.

55HER HONOUR:  Thank you very much.  Have a seat thank you, Mr Thompson.

56Pursuant to s6AAA I declare that had you not pleaded guilty, I would have sentenced you to a term of imprisonment of three years and order you serve a minimum term of two years.

57Now I will stand down while that - what I will do I will just go to the judge's room so let me know when it's ready, all right, thank you.

58MR MARSHALL:  Your Honour, there's just the SORA orders, the mandatory.

59HER HONOUR:  How long?

60MR MARSHALL:  It's a mandatory period of life.

61HER HONOUR:  All right.  You will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.  Thank you.  I will stand down, thank you.

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