Director of Public Prosecutions v TP (a pseudonym)

[2019] VCC 1795

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

TP (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE CAHILL
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	31 October 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v TP (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 1795

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject: aggravated home invasion
Catchwords: guilty plea – youthful offender – parity with co-offenders
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence: 89 days imprisonment (time served) and a community correction order for 2 years and 6 months 6 months – 250 hours of unpaid community work – drug treatment – offender programs – judicial monitoring

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr P. Pickering
For Accused TP	Mr A. Waters

HIS HONOUR:

1I am keen to sentence you today because you have had this matter hanging over your head for 18 months. I will impose my sentence upon you now and I will have prepared full reasons for my sentence, which will be made available to both your counsel and the prosecution at a later date.

2In short, your offending was very serious, as reflected in the maximum penalty for the offence of aggravated home invasion, which is 25 years' imprisonment.

3You offended with three others and, on the material before me, there is no reason to differentiate between you as to the role that each of you played in the offending and the respective culpability of each of you.

4The law requires me to take into account the outcomes of your co-offenders.

5R was dealt with in the Children's Court and, indeed, was not prosecuted for the offence of home invasion at all. 

6W, who was the oldest, I sentenced to a period of Youth Justice detention. 

7It had been submitted, in his case, I ought to sentence him to a term of imprisonment equivalent to the time that he had served and release him on a Community Correction Order, but I formed the view, in the circumstances of his case, that his rehabilitation would be best suited by a period of youth parole supervision.

8I have read the sentencing remarks of Judge Johns, who sentenced the remaining co-offender, P.  He was 18 years old when he offended; slightly older than you. 

9Judge Johns imposed a merciful sentence but one, on the material before me, is also open go you.

10Accordingly, on the charge of aggravated home invasion and the two charges of theft you are sentenced to 89 days' imprisonment, which is the equivalent to the time you have already served in custody, in combination with a Community Correction Order.

11P was sentenced to a three year Community Correction Order and ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid community work. 

12A lengthy Community Correction Order is warranted in your case, in my view, not only to punish you but also to advance your chances of rehabilitation.  On the basis that you were slightly younger than P, I will slightly moderate the length of the Community Correction Order and the number of unpaid community work hours you will have to perform.

13The Community Correction Order will be for a duration of two years and six months from today and, in addition to the core conditions, it will contain the following special conditions:  firstly, that you will be subject to supervision; secondly, that you perform 250 hours of unpaid community work; also that you submit to drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation programs and programs aimed to reduce reoffending.  Up to 75 hours of participation in the treatment programs can be credited against your unpaid community work requirement.

14I will also impose a condition of judicial monitoring, which will require you to attend court to appear before me when I will receive a progress report of your performance on the Community Correction Order.

15Of course you understand a core condition of your Community Correction Order is that you not reoffend; another is that you comply with the obligations of your Community Correction Order. 

16You will be required to attend court on 2 March 2020, TP, at 9.30 am for judicial monitoring.

17I declare that you have served 89 days of the sentence that I have imposed by way of presentence detention

18I declare, but for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 2 years and 6 months detention in a Youth Justice Centre.  That is a declaration that I required to make so that you understand, because you pleaded guilty, I have reduced to sentence, which is, in effect, your time served plus the Community Correction Order.

19Because you have been convicted of theft of a motorcar I am required to make an order in respect of any drivers permits or licences that you have held.  I direct that any drivers licence or permit held by you be cancelled and, as I did in the case of W, I order that you be disqualified for a period of 3 months from 10 June 2018.  So, your disqualification period has been imposed but it is completed.

20I make an order by consent for compensation in the sum of $5000 in favour of Mr Sandhu.

21I will make a disposal order for the three items that the police had seized in the course of their investigation

22And, because of the seriousness of the circumstances of your offending, I make an order for the taking of a scraping of saliva from your mouth for a forensic sample, which will go on to the database, and I must tell you, TP, if you do not cooperate with the police in the taking of a sample of your saliva, police can use reasonable force to enable that forensic procedure to be conducted.

(Short adjournment)

23HIS HONOUR: I see you have signed an acknowledgment that you understand the effects and conditions of this order and consent to it being made; is that correct?

24ACCUSED:  Yes, Your Honour.

25HIS HONOUR:  I will make the order in those terms and good luck with your future plans. I trust that you will take advantage of the supports that are offered to you to help you get on with your life. I am confident, when you return to court in March, I will receive a favourable report of your progress on your Community Correction Order.