Director of Public Prosecutions v Vandersluys
[2024] VCC 828
•5 June 2024
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
GENERAL LIST
Case No. CR-23-01293
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| THOMAS VANDERSLUYS |
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JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE PALMER | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 5 June 2024 | |
DATE OF RULING: | 5 June 2024 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Vandersluys | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 828 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW - SENTENCE
Catchwords: Armed Robbery – Sentence Indication – Sentence with non-parole period appropriate – Bugmy – Verdins – Significant mental health considerations
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic);
Cases Cited:DPP v Karan [2022] VCC 403; DPP v Becke [2021] VCC 1040; DPP v Pilichowski [2021] VCC 1050; DPP v Donaldson [2021] VCC 723; DPP v Nguyen [2020] 489; Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571; R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr Max Perry | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms Heather Anderson | Victoria Legal Aid |
HIS HONOUR:
Circumstances of offending[1]
[1] The offending is described in more detail in Summary of Prosecution Opening for Trial (19 May 2024). I have read and taken into consideration Summary of Prosecution Sentencing Submissions (22 May 2024); Defence Outline of Submissions (22 May 2024); together with the medical and psychiatric material referred to in those submissions and during the sentence indication hearing and the plea.
Thomas Vandersluys, on 19 June 2022, you rang the doorbell of the Dandy Belles Asian Brothel in Dandenong South, and were let in. You spoke with the receptionist, Ms Shanshan Wang, and took a seat. Shortly after that, you came back up to the reception counter, told Ms Wang “I’ve got a gun, give me the money” and showed her a single barrel imitation firearm. She screamed “You don’t hurt me I give you the money”. You grabbed approximately $500 in cash, ran outside, and drove off in a waiting car. You were arrested on 8 July 2022, and have been in custody since then.
On 23 May 2024, I indicated that if you pleaded guilty I would impose a sentence of not more than two years imprisonment. You accepted that indication and pleaded guilty to one charge of armed robbery, contrary to s 75A of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years imprisonment.
Objective seriousness and current sentencing practice,
Your counsel referred me to a number of recent comparable cases involving armed robberies with imitation firearms, including some where there were significant mitigating factors.[2] Mr Perry, while noting that none of the cases could be said to be on all-fours with your offending, accepted that they were “in the ball-park”.
[2] DPP v Karam [2022] VCC 403; DPP v Becke [2021] VCC 1040; DPP v Pilichowski [2021] VCC 1050; DPP v Donaldson [2021] VCC 723; and DPP v Nguyen [2020] VCC 489.
Current sentencing practice is not a controlling factor. Nevertheless, what I take from these decisions is that ordinarily a head sentence with non-parole period is appropriate; and that where the objective seriousness of the offending is not high, and the mitigating factors are sufficiently weighty, a sentence of two or three years is not out of range.
I find your offending to be in the low to mid-range of seriousness. It appears from the CCTV footage that you caused significant alarm and distress to Ms Wang. However, your offending was of relatively short duration, there was no actual physical violence, and the amount of money you took was relatively small.
Personal circumstances and other subjective matters
You had an extremely difficult upbringing and childhood. I accept that your troubled upbringing and early life continues to affect you.[3] It is no surprise that you also have a long history of poly-substance abuse, a lengthy criminal record, and ongoing and serious mental health issues. I accept that your mental health issues reduce your moral culpability; make you a poor vehicle for general and specific deterrence; and mean that time in custody will be more onerous for you. [4]
[3] Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571.
[4] R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269, Limbs 1, 3, 4 and 5.
Given that you have not until recently been fit to plead or stand trial, I accept that your plea of guilty was made at the earliest reasonable opportunity. I also accept that the prosecution case was not without weakness. Your plea saved the courts, witnesses, prosecuting agencies and the community as a whole time, money, inconvenience and uncertainty. I take all of these factors into account.
Orders
I sentence you to two years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 18 months. But for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to three years prison. I declare that you have served 698 days of pre-sentence detention.
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