Regina v Bilton - [2000] NSWSC 1113

CITATION: Regina v Bilton [2000] NSWSC 1113

FILE NUMBER(S): SC 70079/99

HEARING DATE(S): 04/09/00, 05/09/00, 06/09/00, 07/09/00, 11/09/00, 03/11/00, 17/11/00

JUDGMENT DATE: 17 November 2000

PARTIES :

Regina
Paul William Bilton

JUDGMENT OF: Bell J at 1

COUNSEL : Mr N Harrison - Crown
M G Cusack QC - Prisoner

SOLICITORS: SE O'Connor - Crown
Budd & Piper - Prisoner

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED: R v Ditford (unreported) NSWCCA 17 March 1992
R v Vaughan (1991) 56 A Crim R 355
R v Champion (1992) 64 A Crim R 244
R v Richards & Gregory [1998] 2 VR at 10.

DECISION: For manslaughter conviction, sentenced to a term of 7 years imprisonment to date from 20 June 2000. Non-parole period of 4 years and 6 months specified. First date eligible to be released on parole 19 December 2004.; For assault occasioning actual bodily harm conviction, sentenced to 6 months imprisonment to commence on 20 June 2000.

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
CRIMINAL DIVISION
BELL J
Friday, 17 November, 2000

70097/00 - REGINA v Paul William BILTON

SENTENCE

1    HER HONOUR: On 5 September 2000 Paul William Bilton was arraigned before me on an indictment which charged him that on 23 February 1998 at Chinderah he did assault Corey Jessel then occasioning to him actual bodily harm and with the manslaughter of Corey Jessel on 25 February 1998. He entered a plea of guilty to the first count and one of not guilty to the count charging him with manslaughter.
2    The prisoner elected to be tried before me alone and the Crown consented to that course. On 11 September 2000 I returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter and entered a conviction consequent upon that verdict. The matter was stood over to 3 November 2000 for sentence hearing.
3    At the time of the subject events the prisoner was living in the Chinderah Caravan Park. His girlfriend, Cheryl Jessel, was also a resident of the caravan park and lived in a van located across the road from his. The two had been on close terms for about 12 months. Ms Jessel was the mother of Corey. As at February 1998 Corey was just a little over two years old. Although the couple did not live together it was common for Cheryl and Corey to stay overnight in the prisoner's van. Over Corey's short life the prisoner had come to stand in the position of father to him.
4    At the time of his death Corey had two semicircular marks on the left side of his head. They are depicted in a number of the post mortem photographs which were tendered by the Crown in support of the count charging the prisoner with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They are noticeable injuries consistent with having been caused by the same object. In the course of an interview conducted with police on 26 February 1998 the prisoner was asked about these marks. He 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 Regina v Bilton

Details

AGLC: Regina v Bilton [2000] NSWSC 1113
Case: [2000] NSWSC 1113
Decision Date: 17 November 2000

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case Regina v Bilton involved the defendant, Paul William Bilton, who was charged with the assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Corey Jessel on 23 February 1998, and the manslaughter of Corey Jessel on 25 February 1998. Bilton pleaded guilty to the assault charge but not guilty to the manslaughter charge. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales by Bell J.

The court needed to determine the appropriate sentence for Bilton considering the nature of the crimes, the circumstances surrounding the events, and the defendant's intellectual limitations. The court had to decide if the shaking of the child constituted a further deliberate assault and assess the level of culpability given Bilton's intellectual functioning.

Bell J found Bilton guilty of manslaughter and sentenced him to a term of 7 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 4 years and 6 months. For the assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Bilton was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment, to be served concurrently. The court accepted Bilton's account that he threw a tube of ointment at the child, resulting in the injuries, and considered his actions in shaking the child as a panic reaction rather than a deliberate assault. The court acknowledged Bilton's intellectual limitations, which reduced his culpability, and imposed a sentence reflecting both denunciation and deterrence, while also considering the need for rehabilitation. The sentences were to commence on 20 June 2000, taking into account the time Bilton had already served in custody.

Orders