CRIMINAL LAW – JURISDICTION, PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Judgment and Punishment – Sentence – Use carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence – delusional disorder – erotomanic subtype – application of Verdins principles – consideration of Intensive Correction Order – Intensive Correction Order imposed
B Morrisroe (4 June 2021 and 31 August 2021) and I Thomas (8 November 2021) ( Crown)
F Lalic ( Offender)
Solicitors
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
File Number:
SCC 66 of 2021
LOUKAS-KARLSSON J:
Introduction
On 16 March 2021, Steven Black (the offender) pleaded guilty to the following:
(a) Three offences of use carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, contrary to s 474.17(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (Criminal Code). The maximum penalty for this offence is 3 years’ imprisonment.
Agreed Facts
The facts are set out in the Agreed Statement of Facts, which forms part of the Crown Tender Bundle. The agreed facts may be summarised as follows.
The three offences the offender has pleaded guilty…
Grounds of appeal
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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Details
AGLC
R v Black [2022] ACTSC 4
Case
[2022] ACTSC 4
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The case of R v Black is a sentencing matter before the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The offender, Steven Black, pleaded guilty to three offences of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence, contrary to section 474.17(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for each offence is three years' imprisonment. The court had to decide on the appropriate sentence for the offender, considering his mental health condition, the impact of his offending on the victims, and the principles of sentencing for Commonwealth offences.
The court considered the offender's delusional disorder, erotomanic subtype, as a significant mitigating factor. The offender's mental health condition had a direct causal connection to his offending behaviour, and his rehabilitation prospects were significantly contingent on the intensity of the management of his mental health. The court took into account the offender's remorse, his prospects for rehabilitation, and the need to protect the community.
The court decided to impose a sentence of 13 months and 15 days imprisonment for each offence, to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order (ICO) for a period of three years. The court also imposed additional conditions on the ICO, including engaging with ACT Corrective Services staff, reporting any changes in medication and compliance, not contacting the victims, and abiding by a curfew condition. The court considered an ICO appropriate in this case due to the offender's mental health condition and the need for ongoing treatment in the community.