R v Wood - [2008] NSWSC 1273

CITATION: R v Wood [2008] NSWSC 1273

HEARING DATE(S): 25/08/08 - 27/11/08

JUDGMENT DATE :
4 December 2008

JUDGMENT OF: Barr J at 1

DECISION: The offender is sentenced to imprisonment for a non-parole period of thirteen years, which will be taken to have commenced on 21 October 2008 and which will expire on 20 October 2021 and a balance of term of four years and four months, which will expire on 20 February 2026. The first day on which the offender will become eligible for release to parole will be 20 October 2021.

CATEGORY: Sentence

PARTIES: Regina
Gordon Eric Wood

FILE NUMBER(S): SC 2007/1675

COUNSEL: M Tedeschi QC and K McKay (Crown)
W Terracini SC and S Hughes (Defence)

SOLICITORS: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Michael Bowe (Defence)

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
COMMON LAW DIVISION

JUSTICE GRAHAM BARR

4 DECEMBER 2008

2007/1675 REGINA v GORDON ERIC WOOD
REMARKS ON SENTENCE

1 HIS HONOUR: The offender, Gordon Eric Wood, has been found guilty by a jury of the murder on or about 7 June 1995 of Caroline Byrne. The trial of the offender lasted for three months and involved a very large body of evidence. It is undesirable in these remarks for me to undertake any exhaustive review of the evidence. I propose to make only such findings of fact as are necessary for sentence and otherwise to consider only such evidence as is necessary to deal with counsel’s submissions.

2 The offender and Ms Byrne met in 1991 and began living together in the following year. He was a trainer at a city gymnasium. After about six months Ms Byrne became dissatisfied with the kind of life the offender was living. She considered that he had no substantial career prospects and no interest in obtaining any. She brought the relationship to an end. The offender decided to try and get a job with prospects that would impress Ms Byrne, intending to win her affections again. He obtained a job as a chauffeur for a prominent stockbroker, Mr Rene Rivkin. His job was to manage Mr Rivkin’s substantial fleet of motor vehicles, drive him and his guests to destinations, make bookings, pass messages and perform other like duties.

3 The offender and Ms Byrne resumed their relationship towards the end of 1993. They were regarded by friends and family as a normal, loving couple. By early 1995 the offender was very keen for them to be married. Ms Byrne was not ready for marriage, but that was not apparently because of any lack of regard for the offender. She told her sister that she expected that they would eventually marry.

4 Things changed. In February or March 1995 Ms Byrne told her gymnasium manager, Mr Georgiou, that her relations with the offender were not going well. She was not happy about the kinds of persons he was associating with or about his involvement in what she regarded as get-rich-quick schemes. She considered him possessive. She said…

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.

Continue reading R v Wood

Details

AGLC: R v Wood [2008] NSWSC 1273
Case: [2008] NSWSC 1273
Decision Date: 4 December 2008

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Gordon Eric Wood was convicted of various offences including possession of child exploitation material, and was sentenced to imprisonment. Wood appealed his sentence on the grounds that it was excessive. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal in South Australia. The appeal raised questions about the appropriate sentencing approach for offences involving child exploitation material, and the principles guiding the imposition of a sentence for such crimes.

The court examined the sentencing principles relevant to the gravity of child exploitation offences, considering both the culpability of the offender and the need to protect the community and deter similar conduct. The court also considered whether the sentence imposed adequately reflected the seriousness of the offences and the need for denunciation and rehabilitation. The appeal hinged on whether the sentence was manifestly excessive, given the nature of the offences and the mitigating factors presented.

In delivering the judgment, the Court of Appeal concluded that while the offences were of a serious nature, the sentence was not manifestly excessive. The court found that the sentencing judge had appropriately balanced the need to protect the community, provide denunciation, and offer a measure of rehabilitation. The court upheld the sentence, finding that it was within the range of appropriate penalties for the offences committed.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The original sentence was upheld, and Wood was required to serve the term of imprisonment as determined by the sentencing judge.

Orders