Director of Public Prosecutions v Woodall

[2017] VCC 1143

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

Revised
(Not) Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR-17-00671

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

SALLY WOODALL

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE DEAN
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	16 August 2017
DATE OF SENTENCE:	18 August 2017
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Woodall
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2017] VCC 1143

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Cases Cited:
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr M. Roper	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Ms M. Harris	Emma Turnbull Lawyers

HIS HONOUR: 

1Sally Ann Woodall, you have pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, contrary to s.82 of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is ten years imprisonment. You have also pleaded guilty to one charge of attempting to obtain a financial advantage by deception, contrary to s.321M of the Crimes Act 1958. The maximum penalty for that offence is five years imprisonment.

2You pleaded guilty at committal mention and I have taken your early plea into account in your favour in mitigation of sentence.  It is evidence of your remorse and has spared the community the expense of a complex criminal trial. 

3You have no prior convictions, subsequent convictions and there are no outstanding charges in your case. 

4A summary of prosecution opening was read to the court and tendered in evidence and your offending may be summarised as follows –

5Between April 2006 and December 2009, and August 2010 and April 2016, you were employed as the payroll manager at Hassell Services Pty Ltd.  Your employer is an international architecture business with approximately 520 employees. 

6Between 5 September 2006 and 3 December 2009, during the first period of your employment, you made payroll payments to ex-employees of Hassell, into bank accounts operated by you in your name.  During the period covered by Charge 1, you obtained $126,879.63 in this manner. By my reckoning, 72 separate transactions were carried out by you to effect the deception. 

7Between 5 October 2010 and 5 April 2016, during the second period of your employment, you used the same method to obtain $610,554.14.  By my reckoning, this involved 169 separate transactions carried out by you to effect the deception. 

8Charge 3 concerns two transactions you carried out which were unsuccessful due to the use of incorrect banking details.  You corrected those details and those transactions formed part of Charge 2. 

9It is clear from this summary that your offending took place over a lengthy period and it involved sustained dishonesty.  You occupied an important position of trust in your employer's organisation and you used that position to defraud it of a very substantial sum of money.  The extent of your offending went undetected for many years and was only revealed on your resignation. 

10This is a serious example of offending of this nature and the applicable sentencing principles are well established.  The sentence I impose must be calculated to deter others from offending in this manner.  Your dishonesty and serious breach of trust must be denounced and you must be punished for your crimes.  Whilst I accept that the likelihood of your reoffending is low, some caution is necessary in that assessment, and the sentence must also deter you from reoffending. 

11There has been no restitution in this case and you are now bankrupt.  Your employer had a policy of insurance that provided limited indemnity against offending of this type and it has suffered a loss of $687.433.77.  You have agreed to a compensation order in this sum but have no means to pay it. 

12I now turn to your personal circumstances. 

13You were born on 1 August 1967 and now aged 50.  You have three children.  You are the only child of your parents who separated when you were three months old.  Your mother remarried when you were seven and she died when you were 25.  You have had no contact with your father despite attempts by you to do so. 

14Your childhood years were disrupted by your family's circumstances and you attended a number of different primary schools.  You then attended Glenroy Technical School and obtained an advanced business diploma from Kangan TAFE.  Your curriculum vitae, tendered in evidence, sets out your good work history. 

15I have also received in evidence a comprehensive psychological report of
Ms Heidi LeCluse, your treating psychologist, setting out your background and complex psychological profile. 

16You have been married twice.  Your first marriage lasted 15 years and your three children were born during that time.  I accept that this relationship was characterised by abusive and controlling behaviour by your husband which ultimately led you to leave the relationship.  At that time, you were in fulltime, well paid employment and your husband did not work.  Bitter family court proceedings resulted in your children residing with your husband and you paying $1200 per month for their maintenance.  You experienced considerable personal guilt due to the breakdown of your marriage and it is in this context that your psychological condition deteriorated. 

17In December 2009, in this setting, your offending began.  I accept that you applied the majority of the funds that you obtained from your employer to support your children and provide them with gifts, although no doubt you also used the moneys for your own purposes. 

18In late 2010, you met your second husband.  He introduced you to methylamphetamine and your relationship soon became characterised by abuse.  Your psychological vulnerability no doubt contributed to your decision to use methylamphetamine and you became addicted to that substance. 

19The report of Ms LeCluse sets out in detail the circumstances I have summarised and I accept that you offended in the context of domestic violence, drug addiction and abuse which led you to develop the mental illness identified by Ms LeCluse. 

20It is accepted that the principles enunciated by the Court of Appeal in R v Verdins (2007) 16 VR 269 are engaged in your case. For this reason, I accept that your moral culpability for your offending is to be sensibly moderated together with the principle of general deterrence which is a prominent sentencing consideration in this case. I also accept that your psychological condition and mental illness means that imprisonment for you will involve a significant degree of hardship than would otherwise be the case.

21In my opinion, your prospects for rehabilitation are to be approached with a degree of caution.  And as I have said, specific deterrence has a role to play in your case.  Your offending was very serious, protracted and persistent and a very large sum of money has been misappropriated by you.  However, you have the support of your family and will resume treatment with Ms LeCluse on your release from prison. 

22Your case is a complex sentencing exercise.  I have decided in all the circumstances to impose a non-parole period that will provide for your continuing rehabilitation.  In fixing that non-parole period, I have paid due regard to the relevant statements of Justice Charles in DPP v Boulton [1998] 4 VR 114. However, as I have observed, it is also accepted that the principles in R v Verdins (supra) are also applicable in this case and I have moderated the appropriate portion of sentence, that is, the total effective sentence and the non-parole period for that reason. 

23Finally, I accept that you are generally remorseful for your offending and this too is a factor that will support your ongoing rehabilitation. 

24It was submitted on your behalf that the sentence I impose on Charge 3 ought to be wholly concurrent with the other sentences that I impose and I accept that in the circumstances of this case that is correct. 

25In the result the sentence is as follows –

26In relation to Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for 15 months. 

27In relation to Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years and six months. 

28In relation to Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned for two months. 

29I order that six months of the sentence on Charge 1 be served cumulatively on Charge 2.  This makes for a total effective term of imprisonment of three years. 

30I direct that you serve 15 months imprisonment before becoming eligible for release on parole. 

31I declare that you have served two days by way of pre-sentence detention. 

32But for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective term of imprisonment of four years and six months and a non-parole period of two years and six months. 

33I have made the compensation order sought by the prosecution.  Are there any further orders required, Mr Kenna?

34MR KENNA:  Your Honour, we do seek a s.464ZF order.

35HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Yes, that is right.  Is that opposed, Ms Harris?

36MS HARRIS:  Your Honour, I do not actually have instructions on that.  If I could quickly that?

37HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

38MS HARRIS:  Your Honour, Ms Woodall does not oppose but I would seek to know the relevance really - is it really necessary?  This is a woman that is not ‑ ‑ ‑ 

39HIS HONOUR:  Well, I must say I ‑ ‑ ‑ 

40MS HARRIS:  ‑ ‑ ‑ highly unlikely to reoffend and in my submission, it is not necessary.

41HIS HONOUR:  It is not mandatory in this case, is it?

42MR KENNA:  No, it is not, Your Honour.

43HIS HONOUR:  No.

44MR KENNA:  It is just the legislation provides that upon the conviction for any indictable offence, the application may be made.

45HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  No, I understand that.  Mr Kenna, I am not satisfied that in the circumstances of this case, having regard to the nature of the offending, the offender's antecedents and her prospects for rehabilitation that it is necessary or in the interests of justice for me to make such an order and I do not propose to do so in this case. 

46COUNSEL:  As Your Honour pleases.

47HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  Yes, Ms Woodall can be removed now.  Thank you.

48MS HARRIS:  As Your Honour pleases.

49HIS HONOUR:  We will adjourn until 9 am on Monday.

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