R v Royle

[2023] NSWDC 638

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Royle [2023] NSWDC 638

Hearing dates:

17 February 2023

Date of orders:

23 February 2023

Decision date:

23 February 2023

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Priestley SC DCJ

Decision:

See [Orders]

Catchwords:

CRIME — Violent offences — Wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm

CRIME — Violent offences — Assault occasioning actual bodily harm

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

Crime (Sentencing Procedure) Act.1999 (NSW)

Cases Cited:

Attorney General’s Application under s37 reported at (2002) 56 NSWLR 146.

AM v R [2012] NSWCCA 203

DPP v De la Rosa [2010] NSWCCA 194

Muggleton v R [2015] NSWCCA 94

Vaiusu v R [2017] NSWCCA 71

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Rex (The Crown)
Eli Royle (The Offender)

Representation:

Enderwick for the Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions
Love for the offender

File Number(s):

2022/00025285

Publication restriction:

NA

REASONS ON SENTENCE

Introduction

1. Eli Royle appears for sentence for the offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in contravention of section 33(1)(a) of the Crimes Act. The offence has a maximum sentence of 25 years imprisonment and there is a standard non-parole period of 7 years. I take both the maximum sentence and standard non-parole period into account as legislative guideposts, indicating the legislature’s view of the seriousness of the offence so as to assist in arriving at the appropriate sentence.

2. In arriving at that sentence there is to be taken into account a further matter by way of the Form 1 procedure. That matter is an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in contravention of section 59 of the Crimes Act and for which the maximum sentence is five years. In respect of that offence I take into account the maximum sentence also as a legislative guideposts but only so as to be able to give proper effect to the Form 1 procedure. In regards to the Form 1 procedure it is important that the focus remains on the principal offence for which the offender is being sentenced. The procedure allows that in doing this greater weight may be given to the elements of personal deterrence and the community’s entitlement to extract retribution for serious offenses. Those two elements are entitled to greater weight than they may otherwise be given when sentencing for the primary offence; see Attorney General’s Application under s37 reported at (2002) 56 NSWLR 146.

3. The offender was not on conditional liberty at the time of the offending. He has been in custody since his arrest on 28 January 2022 and the sentence will date from that date.

FACTS AND OBJECTIVE SERIOUSNESS

4. The offender and the victim were known to each other in that prior to the offending, specifically on or about 9 April 2021 the victim broke up a fight between the offender and another person. Other than that the victim had seen the offender on several occasions. It is not suggested they were friends or acquainted otherwise.

5. The offending occurred on New…