R v Entwistle

[2021] NSWDC 159

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Entwistle [2021] NSWDC 159

Hearing dates:

19 March 2021

Date of orders:

26 March 2021

Decision date:

26 March 2021

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Neilson DCJ

Decision:

ICO for 1 yr 11 months with 500 hours community service, and fine of $10,000.

Catchwords:

CRIME – SENTENCE – Cth offence – Public servant engaged in conduct with the intention of dishonestly obtaining an advantage for himself and other – Misuse of computer system of DAWR to obtain data relevant to importing formwork plywood to give an advantage to others involved in that trade and in the expectation of personal gain – No actual benefit obtained for himself – Offending over 18 months period – Guilty plea – Late – Significant utilitarian value – Discount of 15% allowed – Prior good character – Nearly 12 years service in Army, including active service overseas – Unlikely to reoffend.

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

Criminal Code (Cth)

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Cases Cited:

Imbornone v R [2017] NSWCCA 144

Lee v R [2020] NSWCCA 307

R v Einfeld [2009] NSWSC 119

R v Farquhar (unreported CCA, 29 May 1985)

R v Jackson and Hakim (1988) 33 A Crim R 33

R v Obeid (No 12) [2016] NSWSC 1815

Ryan v The Queen (2001) 206 CLR 267

Wany v The DPP [2020] NSWCA 318

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Crown – Regina
Offender – Jarrod Entwistle

Representation:

Crown:
Counsel – D. New
Solicitors – CDPP

Offender:
Counsel – S. Lawrence
Solicitors – Sydney Criminal Lawyers

File Number(s):

2019/00205648

Publication restriction:

Nil.

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Jarrod Entwistle stands for sentence as a consequence of having pleaded guilty to a charge that between 24 April 2016 and 10 October 2017 at Sydney in this State, he, being a Commonwealth public official, engaged in conduct in the exercise of his duties as a Commonwealth public official and did so with the intention of dishonestly obtaining a benefit for himself and another person. That is an offence contrary to s 142.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act of the Commonwealth of Australia. The maximum penalty for the offence is five years' imprisonment and/or a fine of $54,000.

2. The offender was charged by a Court Attendance Notice first returnable in the Downing Centre Local Court on 16 July 2019. He was committed for trial by Atkinson LCM on 18 February 2020. He was arraigned in this Court on 20 March 2020 on an indictment containing four counts. The first count is the count to which the offender ultimately pleaded guilty. The second count in the original indictment was a count in the alternative and the third and fourth counts were offences alleged to be contrary to s 478.1(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The first was modifying restricted data and the second was having unauthorised access to restricted data. To those four counts the offender pleaded not guilty. The matter was then set down for…