R v Mabor
[2014] ACTSC 230
•4 July 2014
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Case Title: | R v Mabor |
Citation: | [2014] ACTSC 230 |
Hearing Date: | 4 July 2014 |
DecisionDate: | 4 July 2014 |
Before: | Murrell CJ |
Decision: | Twelve months’ imprisonment: four months’ full time imprisonment and eight months’ imprisonment suspended upon offender entering into a good behaviour order for 16 months |
Category: | Sentence |
Catchwords: | CRIMINAL – Sentence – robbery – rehabilitation – guilty plea |
Legislation Cited: | Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) s 12 Criminal Code 2002 (ACT) s 309 |
Parties: | The Queen (Crown) Boi Peter Mabor (Offender) |
Representation: | Counsel Mr S McLaughlin (Crown) Mr J Lawton (Offender) |
| Solicitors Director of Public Prosecutions (ACT) (Crown) Darryl Perkins Solicitors (Offender) | |
File Number: | SCC 72 of 2014 |
MURRELL CJ:
The offender adheres to a plea of guilty entered at the earliest reasonable opportunity in the Magistrates Court to the offence that on 13 March 2014 he committed a robbery contrary to s 309 of the Criminal Code 2002 (ACT). The offence carries a maximum available penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
The offender has been in custody since 13 March 2014 and any sentence of imprisonment should be backdated to that date.
The offence
The facts of the robbery are somewhat unusual. The offender and the victim were in a relationship. On the evening of 14 March 2014, they were intending to stay with a friend, Mr Ahmed, in Turner, ACT. Mr Ahmed, the offender and the victim were walking along Northbourne Avenue together at about 7.20 pm. The offender and the victim began to argue and then the offender commenced to physically assault the victim. The victim fell to the ground. While she was on the ground, the offender punched and kicked her in the head. He took her handbag and left. Witnesses called the police.
Soon afterwards, police attended Mr Ahmed’s flat in Turner, where they located the offender. The offender showed them where the handbag was located. It was in an open cupboard. Police inspected the handbag and observed that nothing had been removed from it. Before and during the incident, both the offender and the victim were intoxicated.
The incident itself is, as I have mentioned, a rather unusual form of robbery. The character of the incident is more in the nature of domestic violence rather than robbery. Although it was conceded by the plea that the offender used force to remove property, it appears that the offender did not want to profit from the removal of the property other than by “punishing” the victim for a perceived fault on her part.
As far as the theft aspect of the offence is concerned, the property was recovered intact. The offender directed police to the location of the property.
The assault aspect of the robbery is relatively serious. The victim was punched and kicked in the head while she was on the ground and she sustained swelling to the right side of her face. She suffered actual injury as a result of the assault.
Subjective circumstances
The offender advances strong subjective circumstances. He is now 25 years of age. He has a short criminal history involving relatively minor matters, with one exception. The criminal history includes several matters of assault, including assaults on police. Section 9 good behaviour orders were imposed in relation to those matters. The most serious conviction recorded is for an offence of demanding property with menaces that occurred in about March 2013. This offence resulted in a sentence of eight months’ imprisonment from 10 March 2013 with a nonparole period of five months and 24 days. offender was released on 1 September 2013. The offence before this court, which is similar in a general sense, occurred only six months later.
The offender had a very difficult and disrupted childhood. He was born in Sudan at a time when there was civil conflict in that country. Until he was three years of age, he lived with his mother and siblings in a rural location. He was then taken by his father to the city, where circumstances were marginally better. He was able to attend school until seven years of age. When the offender was seven years old, his father sent him to Egypt to live with an uncle, hoping that that would improve the offender’s prospects in life.
10. Unfortunately, the offender was not sent to school by his uncle, as the offender’s father had anticipated, but was required to care for a disabled cousin. In 2003, when he was approximately 14 years of age, the offender came to Australia with his uncle’s family. Culturally, it must have been a very difficult and dramatic transition for the offender. He seems to have adapted reasonably well, because he was able to complete Year 12.
11. His uncle had very high aspirations for him, impossibly high aspirations, but the offender had a pragmatic approach to what he could achieve in life. He wanted to obtain a trade qualification. His was uncle opposed to this. That led to significant conflict in the relationship and ultimately led to the offender leaving his uncle’s home and living an itinerant lifestyle for a period, during which he began to abuse alcohol and cannabis.
12. When the offender was about 20 years of age, he learned that his father had died in Sudan. This news upset him greatly, leading to an increase in his drinking. He has had a significant alcohol problem for the past five years.
13. The pre-sentence report indicates that, while the offender admits the assault, he shows some lack of insight into his offending behaviour. This may be related to his failure to accept his propensity to violent behaviour. Violence is a theme in the offender’s criminal record.
14. The offender has been offered a stable living situation with his cousin and her partner. He is anxious to commence work, in part so that he can provide financial support to his mother and siblings in Sudan. He wants to secure an apprenticeship and he is undertaking appropriate education to that end. He is focused on improving his life. Given his history, he will need considerable support if he is to obtain qualifications and secure work and then stabilise within the community. He was motivated in 2013 to move from New South Wales to Canberra for the purpose of starting afresh. It is most unfortunate, from his perspective and from that of the victim and the community, that he committed this offence.
15. There are reasonable prospects that he will be able to change his life, make a home here and make a useful contribution to society. He has undertaken a number of courses in custody and he is said to have been a well-behaved and compliant prisoner. He has undertaken a learner licence course and has obtained perfect results. He has also done a course on accessing vocational pathways, so he has made a good start in custody.
Objective seriousness
16. The objective seriousness of the offence is towards the lower end of the scale for offences of its type. However, it is a serious matter, considering the maximum available penalty. Some sort of sentence of imprisonment is necessary, but one that will afford the offender a good opportunity to pursue rehabilitation.
Conclusion
17. I record a conviction. I would have imposed a sentence of 16 months’ imprisonment but I have reduced this term for the plea of guilty to 12 months’ imprisonment. The period from 13 March 2014 to 11 July 2014 is to be served by way of full-time imprisonment. The remaining eight months of the sentence are suspended pursuant to s 12 of the Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) upon the offender entering a good behaviour order for a period of 16 months from 13 July 2014.
18. The good behaviour order is subject to the conditions that the offender must accept the supervision of Corrective Services, report to Corrective Services at Eclipse House within two working days of his release and submit to the supervision of Corrective Services for as long as they consider that supervision is necessary.
| I certify that the preceding eighteen [18] numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Sentence of her Honour Chief Justice Murrell. Associate: Date: |
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