Director of Public Prosecutions v Watkins

[2016] VCC 527

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-16-00120

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

V

CARRIE WATKINS

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE WILMOTH
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	29 April 2016
DATE OF SENTENCE:	29 April 2016
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Watkins
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2016] VCC 527

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject: Criminal law - sentence            

Catchwords:   Pleas of guilty to one charge of arson and one charge of attempting to obtain property by deception – house destroyed by fire lit by offender and co-accused –fragile mental health-  Verdins – full admissions and statement implicating co-accused – assistance to authorities – excellent prospects for rehabilitation.              

Cases Cited:Verdins v R [2007] VSCA 102

Sentence: 2 year CCO             

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms. S. Flynn	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr. B. Johnston	Cameron Marshall

HER HONOUR:

1Carrie Watkins, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of arson and one charge of attempting to obtain property by deception. 

2During 2014, you had been renting a house at 24 Anderson Street, Bundoora, for about a year, and became unable to pay the rent.  The house was owned by Mrs Ann Quirk, who was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, and the rent from the house was used to pay her medical bills.  You and the co-accused, Matthew Constable, made a plan to burn the house down and claim the insurance on the contents which belonged to you and which were insured for $99,000.  Constable was to receive a cut of the insurance money. 

3On 20 July 2015, you and Constable set up some candles in the house, then sprayed the curtain with some petrol which Constable had siphoned from his car into a plastic cup, the remains of which were later found at the premises.

4You lit the candles and opened the window and then left, returning to the accused's house.  Later, he left there and when he returned, he told you he had done it and he had a shower and got rid of his clothes.

5The house was severely damaged by the fire, and it spread to the guttering of the next door property.  Fire officers and the police attended and the plastic cup was found near the rear of the premises appearing to contain an accelerant. 

6Police spoke with you on the phone in the early hours of the morning and you said you had been at the house with Constable the previous evening and had lit several candles which you believed you had blown out before leaving.  Neighbours reported seeing a car similar to that owned by Constable speeding away from the burning house when the fire first took hold.  His phone records disclosed calls made in the early hours of the morning of the fire.

7On 6 September 2015 you told your sister and then your mother that you had been involved in the fire with the co-accused, and that it was not an accident.  The next day you went to the police station and handed in a note in which you confessed to the burning of the house.  You were then arrested and interviewed.  You made full admissions as to your involvement, as you also did in a statement you made later.  You expressed your apologies for the fire.

8About a month after the fire, you had rung the insurance company and made a claim and had begun to compile a list of the contents of the house.  After you had been to the police you withdrew the claim.  The house had been uninsured and the value has been estimated at $111,000 based on the improved value and the site value.  It cost $29,450 to remove the remains of the damaged house, so the total loss was $140,450.

9The owner, Mrs Quirk, lives in a nursing home and she suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and her son John provided a victim impact statement in which he describes the great sadness for the family caused by the loss of the house, including the fact that he has been unable to tell his mother what has happened as she would not understand.

10Your personal circumstances are closely entwined with these offences.  You are aged 35, the mother of three young children, aged 9, 5 and 3.  You separated from your husband and father of the children in January 2015. 

11After the birth of your first child in 2009, you suffered from post-natal depression.  In October 2013 you were admitted to hospital after suicide attempts in the context of depression and again in November 2014, following suicidal ideation.  Very shortly before this, you had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. 

12In late December 2014, you made contact with a former school friend, Matthew Constable.  Very soon after this, your husband left your home and a few days later on the 5th of January, your husband saw you in a car with Mr Constable.  He chased the car and an accident occurred.  Your husband was charged over the incident and the police took out an intervention order against him to protect you.

13At the time you told police that you were the driver in order to prevent Mr Constable, who was the driver, from being charged with unlicensed driving.  You had never used drugs before, but began to use the drug, ice with Mr Constable.  Your mother became aware of this and in April 2015, she alerted the Department of Human Services who took the children and placed them in her care where they remain until reunification with you can take place.

14You invited Mr Constable to stay in your home.  I believe this was in early 2015 and he learned that you had had the contents of the house insured for $99,000.  He suggested burning the house in order to claim insurance to pay for the drugs. 

15The original plan was for Constable to find someone else to light the fire but he then decided to do it himself.  Later he asked you to do it, suggesting that you light a candle and place it on its side near a curtain at an open window.  About three weeks before the fire, you went to the house to do this, but you could not bring yourself to do it.  You told Constable twice that you did not want to go through with it, however on the 20th of July, you lit the fire as I have already described.  The relationship with Constable ended in August.

16You are a person with a good education and with some dental nursing qualifications and experience in that field.  You have no previous convictions and no history of substance abuse until this time.

17Unfortunately, by late 2014, your mental health was extremely fragile and several different medications were being trialled in hospital.  You were discharged on 19 December, and it was shortly after that, that  Constable introduced you to intravenous drug use.

18By July you were failing to attend medical appointments and you did not resume treatment until August, after the offending.  By December last year, your mental state had improved.  You had been seeing a psychologist, Ms Davies, over a two year period and she had documented a decline in your engagement in treatment in mid-2015, with a decline in your mental state having been noted in June.

19Dr Cidoni, the psychiatrist who assessed you recently, had access to the records of your treating psychiatrist, and of Ms Davies, and he noted the previous diagnosis of dysthymic disorder and borderline personality disorder with associated anxiety.  He noted your report to him of the abusive and controlling behaviour of Mr Constable and the threats he made to you if you did not comply with his wishes in relation to the plan for the fire.  Dr Cidoni considered that your impulsivity and fear of rejection, both features of your disorder, contributed to your offending behaviour together with the impaired judgment caused by illicit drugs. 

20This enlivens the principles in the case of Verdins, meaning that the need for general deterrence as part of your sentence should be moderated to some degree.  The principles in Verdins also apply in relation to the likely burden of imprisonment, in that Dr Cidoni considered you would be highly vulnerable in prison, with the likelihood that your depression would relapse and your anxiety would escalate with an associated significant risk of self-harm.

21Other mitigating factors include your previous good character and the fact that you pleaded guilty at an early stage, having made admissions from the start, and the remorse to which I have already referred. 

22Most importantly, you told the police of Mr Constable's involvement and made a statement to that effect.  As a result you have been subpoenaed to give evidence against him at the committal due to be heard in June, and at a trial which might follow.  You have given an undertaking today to that effect, confirming that you understand that the failure to give that evidence would result in your return to court to be re-sentenced.

23That assistance to the authorities is of great value and is to be acknowledged by the discounting of your sentence.  The fact that it has the potential to increase your vulnerability in custody, given that Mr Constable has an extensive criminal history, is a further matter to be taken into account.

24Mr Johnston who appeared on your behalf, urged me to have you assessed as to your suitability for a Community Correction Order and the prosecution submission is that that would be an appropriate disposition. 

25The offending is very serious and the fire itself threatened neighbouring houses and could have threatened those who live there.  The maximum sentence for arson is 15 years imprisonment and for attempting to obtain property by deception, five years. 

26In your case, the need for both general and specific deterrence can be reduced, and indeed, your prospects for rehabilitation are excellent.  You have ceased using drugs and have produced clean urine screens which, no doubt, would be required as a condition of the planned reunification with your children that is hoped will take place within the next 11 months under a Children's Court Order.

27You appear to have sound professional and family support and the motivation to have your children returned to your care within a stated time.  Presently, you are living in shared accommodation which is not suitable for the children and that is a matter to be resolved. 

28Because of all the mitigating factors I have mentioned, some leniency is called for and the Community Correction Order will provide the necessary combination of punishment and opportunities for rehabilitation.

29Would you stand now please, Ms Watkins. 

30You have been assessed as suitable for a Community Correction Order and that will be the sentence.  It will begin today and will last for two years.  You will be under supervision and you must perform 100 hours of unpaid community work over 12 months.  You must have drug assessment and any necessary treatment and your psychological treatment will be monitored.  You will also be considered for programs that are related to offending.  You must attend the Corrections Office at 909 High Street, Reservoir by 4 pm on Tuesday, that is, within two working days of today. 

31If you had pleaded not guilty, I would have sentenced you to 12 months imprisonment combined with a Community Correction Order.  The discount I have applied also takes into account the assistance you have given the authorities so far and have undertaken to give in the future. 

32The prosecution seeks an order for a forensic sample of saliva to be obtained.  Now I have not heard from Mr Johnston whether there is consent to that.

33MR JOHNSTON:  No, Your Honour, that is not opposed. 

34HER HONOUR:  Thank you, and what about the compensation order?

35MR JOHNSTON:  It is not opposed, Your Honour, just noting her inability currently to be able to fund that.

36HER HONOUR:  Of course.

37MR JOHNSTON:  Yes.

38HER HONOUR:  Ms Watkins, on the basis of it not being opposed, I make the order for the forensic sample of saliva to be obtained.  I have to advise you that the police have the power to use reasonable force to obtain that sample but I trust that will not be necessary. 

39The prosecution also seeks that order for compensation to be paid to the owner of the property and I make that order in the sum is $140,450 and I note that that is not opposed also.   Are there any other matters, Ms Flynn?

40MS FLYNN:  No, thank Your Honour.

41HER HONOUR:  Mr Johnston?

42MR JOHNSTON:  As Your Honour pleases.

43HER HONOUR:  Do you want to have a look at that order?

44MR JOHNSTON:  Yes, Your Honour.

Your Honour, I have just been asked to say to Your Honour that my client wants to reiterate her apologies about what occurred and she wants to thank the court for any leniency in the sentence that has been imposed, but really she wants to emphasise her apologies, particularly to the victim in this case.  That is what she has asked me to pass on.

45HER HONOUR:  I see.  I am sure Ms Flynn will convey that, if appropriate.

46MS FLYNN:  Thank you, Your Honour.  Your Honour, could I just clarify that the Community Correction Order was imposed with conviction?

47HER HONOUR:  Yes, for both.  For both charges, that is right.    

48Adjourn the court please, till Monday. 

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