The Queen v Smith
[2019] VCC 1788
•31 October 2019
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Unrestricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTIONCR-18-01779
| THE QUEEN |
| v |
| QUENTIN SMITH |
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| JUDGE: | HIS HONOUR JUDGE O'CONNELL |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 10 October 2019 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 31 October 2019 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | The Queen v Smith |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2019] VCC 1788 |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
---Subject: CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Use carriage service to access child pornography material; produce child pornography material; possess child abuse material; possess GHB; extensive admissions made to police; plea entered at earliest practicable opportunity; evidence of genuine remorse; significant delay; no relevant prior convictions; cessation of drug use evidenced by urine screens; extensive psychological treatment in sexual offending program; excellent prospects of rehabilitation
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic); Crimes Act 1914 (Cth); Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic)
Cases Cited:Boulton; Clements; Fitzgerald [2014] VSCA 342; Miao v R [2017] NSWCCA 89; Fedele v R [2015] NSWCCA 286; DPP(Cth) v Zarb [2014] VSCA 37; Heathcote (A Pseudonym) v R [2014] VSCA 347.
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the (Cth) Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr P. Darby (For Plea) Ms E. Linfoot (For Sentence) | (Cth) Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr A. Trood | Tony Hargreaves & Partners |
HIS HONOUR:
1
Quentin Smith you have pleaded guilty to one charge that between
24 February 2017 and 27 March 2018 you used a carriage service to access child pornography material (charge one). You have further pleaded guilty to one charge of intentionally producing child abuse material on 3 March 2018 (charge two), one charge of possessing child abuse material on 27 March 2018 (charge three) and one charge of possessing a small quantity of a drug of dependence, namely 4-HydroxyButanoic Acid, known as GHB (charge four) .
2On your plea Mr Darby, who appeared at that time for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, tendered a Crown opening which became Exhibit A. That document sets out the details of your offending which I will attempt to summarise in the following way.
3On 27 March 2018, police executed a search warrant at your home and seized an Acer Laptop computer, a SanDisk 32GB USB thumb drive, an Apple iPad and a small vial containing clear liquid. The electronic devices were subsequently analysed and they were found to contain child pornography material. The first two charges relate to what was found on the Acer laptop and in describing the basis of those two charges I shall also refer to some electronic chat messages that were located on the Apple iPad.
Charge one: accessing child pornography material
4As to charge one, the Acer laptop was analysed and investigators located 156 files that you accessed over the 12 or so month period covering that charge. The material was examined and the files were categorised according to the categorisation model for child exploitation material of the Australian National Victim Image Library.
Category
Files
1. CEM no sexual activity
30
2. CEM solo/sexual acts
76
3. CEM adult non penetrate
4
4. CEM child/adult penetrate
45
5. CEM sadism/bestiality/child abuse
1
6. Animated or virtual
0
Total
156
5The category 1 images and videos located on that laptop included images and videos of pre-pubescent aged males with erect and flaccid penises exposed.
6The category 2 images and videos located, included images and videos of young males estimated to be aged between 6-7 years old masturbating and performing oral sex on each other.
7The category 3 images and videos included males aged between 7-10 years old masturbating adult males and being masturbated.
8The category 4 images and videos included two videos of male children being orally and anally penetrated by adult males.
9The category 5 images included videos of male adolescent aged children performing acts of bestiality by penetrating a pony or a small horse.
10
To place this offending in some wider context, further analysis of the Acer laptop revealed that you had used the device regularly between January and
March 2018 to access websites for child pornographic material. For example, between 16–24 March 2018, you connected on three occasions to a series of “Dropboxes” containing child pornographic material and examples of the URLs located and stored on the device include:
“3-11yr+show+there+cocks.mp4
“unknown14,mp4”
“superhot15YoOmegleBoy.flv”
11You also used social media to access child pornographic material and this was revealed from chat messages sent from your Skype account to other contacts. For example, you sent a message to a contact on 25 August 2017, “any ped rooms with boy vids” and in another message, “we need a zoom with boy”.
12Messages sent from the laptop and the iPad using your Zoom account also referenced access to child pornography material. For example:
a)A message sent by you on 14 January 2018 “cool we would love to aNY TIME in next few hours ma…i am hosting 5 aussie pedos”.
b)A message sent by you on 14 January 2018 “hey man im hosting 4 other sexy aussie peds, if you are up for a private, would love to see your vids”.
c)A message sent to you on 16 January 2018 “Its free just fill up the info needed to access all my pedo vids”.
d)A message sent by you on 10 March 2018 “pervy hung mate here now” “he’s keen for kids”. The Zoom user replied to you with a Zoom URL.
13In December 2017, you installed what was described as TOR browser software on the laptop. That type of software can be used to hide online activities and make it difficult to trace such activity.
Charge two: producing child abuse material
14Further analysis of the laptop revealed that on 3 March 2018 you made a video recording while using the Zoom application. The video file is a screenshot recording with you identifiable at points on the screen capture. The video depicts an adolescent male being anally penetrated by a dog with you masturbating in the webcam frame.
Charge three: possessing child abuse material
15The SanDisk 32GB USB thumb drive was analysed and found to contain 39 images and videos which constituted child abuse material. They were categorised into the following table:
Category
Images
Video
Total
1. CEM no sexual activity
9
0
9
2. CEM solo/sexual acts
2
14
16
3. CEM adult non penetrate
0
0
0
4. CEM child/adult penetrate
0
14
14
5. CEM sadism/bestiality/child abuse
0
0
0
6. Animated or virtual
0
0
0
Total
11
28
39
16The category 1 images, of which there were 9, included pre-pubescent males in selfie poses exposing their genitals.
17The category 2 material, of which there were 2 images and 14 videos, included images and videos of pre-pubescent males performing solo acts of masturbation and ejaculation.
18The category 4 videos, of which there were 14, included videos of male children being orally and anally penetrated by adult males.
Charge four: possession of GHB
19During the course of your interview with police you admitted that the small vial of clear liquid found at your house contained the drug GHB.
Police interview and admissions
20
During the course of your interview with police, which took place on
27 March 2018, you made extensive admissions as to your dealings with child pornography, including that:
· you had been accessing Zoom rooms over the previous nine months or so;
· you had been in rooms which showed child bestiality;
· you had witnessed child pornography online in Zoom rooms;
· you had a Zoom username which you provided;
· you were introduced to child pornography Zoom rooms through a sexual acquaintance;
· you used your Acer laptop for that purpose;
· you suggested that your sexual attraction related to seeing other adult males engage in accessing child pornography;
· you said the age of the children you saw were anything under 18 and that the videos depicted incest, adults having sex with children, two teenagers or a group of boys;
· you said your access to child pornography coincided with you starting drug abuse and that you usually took ice, meth or GHB;
· you said it was a relief to be speaking to police because you would now be able to stop engaging in this activity;
· you said that you thought you had recorded things off Zoom but could not remember the content because you had never watched it played back;
· you had accessed a Dropbox file in the last seven days which had child pornography in it and you had been sent a link to it by someone using Zoom;
· you admitted to having a USB containing child pornography which you had copied from someone’s computer while you were at their house, that it contained 15 child pornography files with teenage children and you told investigators where that could be found;
· you stated that you had possibly showed these images on Zoom;
· you admitted to making the video recording the subject of charge two; and
· you provided the relevant passwords to each of your electronic devices.
Procedural history
21
Turning then to the procedural history associated with this matter, as I have indicated you were arrested, interviewed and you were charged and bailed for these matters on 27 March 2018. At the second committal mention of this matter held on 31 August 2018, you entered pleas of guilty in respect of the charges on this Indictment. The matter was listed for plea in this Court on
26 November 2018 but, through no fault of yours, it did not proceed. The matter was then listed for plea on 5 June 2019 but unfortunately was not reached. The plea then proceeded before me on 10 October 2019.
22Two matters arise out of that chronology which are important for the purposes of formulating sentence. First, it was submitted by Mr Trood who appeared on your behalf, and accepted by the prosecution, that your plea of guilty was entered at the earliest practicable opportunity. It was argued that a plea entered in those circumstances indicated remorse, facilitated the course of justice and represented a tangible acceptance of responsibility for your offending. Those matters should result, it was submitted, in a significant reduction in the sentence that would otherwise be imposed.
23Second, it was submitted that the period of 19 months or so from the point of being charged to the point of sentence constitutes a significant delay which should further reduce the sentence to be imposed. That was particularly so when one considers that you made extensive admissions at the very time this offending was detected and had followed through on those admissions with your plea.
24I should say now that I accept both of those submissions and that the combined effect of your early plea of guilty and the unfortunate delay which has attended this matter will result in a substantial reduction of the sentence that would otherwise be imposed.
Personal history
25Turning then to your personal history, you were born on 27 June 1969. You were 47-48 years of age during the offending. You are now 50.
26You were the fifth of six brothers brought up in a relatively strict Catholic family in suburban Melbourne. You described your early years as “really happy”. Your father was a roof tiler and your mother was engaged full-time in managing the family. You had a loving relationship with your parents, you did not suffer any form of abuse at home and there appears to be no family history of alcohol or drug abuse, mental illness, family violence or criminality. Your mother died in 1996 and you remain on good terms with your father and other brothers.
27You appear to have done well at school having performed at an above average level academically. For your secondary education you attended St Bede’s in Mentone. You got on well with your peers and achieved excellent results in year 12, which you completed in 1986.
28You attended the University of Melbourne and completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in the Italian and French languages. You then undertook a Diploma of Education which you obtained in 1991. Until your arrest, your working life was spent as a secondary school teacher. First at Euroa Secondary College in 1992 and shortly afterwards you returned to teach at St Bede’s until 2006. Thereafter you taught at St John’s College in Dandenong. You were there for 11 years and became one of the school’s deputy principals. When you were arrested and charged you were stood down from your teaching position and your teaching career is now over.
29Over your adult life you have been involved in at least two significant intimate relationships. Most importantly, in 2004 you commenced living with a man who you described as the love of your life. About a year after that relationship commenced your partner was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and died within eight weeks of that diagnosis.
30You told your assessing psychologist Mr Patrick Newton that after that experience you could not fully commit to a further relationship and progressively immersed yourself more intensely in what you called “the gay scene”, engaging with it in an increasingly abandoned manner.
31Mr Newton, in his report of 17 November 2018, identified three particular points in your life where you have experienced extreme stress. The first related to the death of your partner in 2005. The second related to a crisis that occurred at your workplace in 2016 where the principal under whom you worked was stood down over allegations of fraud. The burden of managing the school’s response to that crisis and explaining that response to the school community and the wider community through the media, largely fell to you. It was at this point that you started to engage in regular illicit drug use.
32You found that GHB relaxed and disinhibited you and that methamphetamine increased your level of energy. You took these drugs each weekend and that provided the setting within which this offending occurred. Whilst taking these drugs you would regularly access Zoom rooms with a group of men watching what was streamed in the rooms, and in turn streaming your own material and/or behaviour. Child pornography would be viewed in those rooms. You told Mr Newton in respect of this, “I am truly sorry and deeply remorseful for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour.”
33The third episode of extreme stress occurred at the time you were charged with these offences. However, it should be said that it appears with the benefit of the treatment that you have received since this offending was detected, over time you have become better able to effectively manage that stress.
34
Dealing now with the treatment that you have received since these offences were detected, you commenced, at your own expense, a sex offender treatment program with Dr Matthew Barth on 7 May 2018. He has provided reports of
18 November 2018, 20 May 2019 and 8 October 2019 detailing your progress on that program.
35You have now attended 22 treatment sessions in total and your progress according to Dr Barth over that period of time has been very encouraging. In the early stages of the treatment it appears that you had some difficulty in identifying the full extent of the factors which lead you to view and download child pornography. The treatment in part challenged what was called the ‘cognitive distortions’ that helped you rationalise the offending.
36Over time your insight developed and you came to more clearly understand that “I was feeding an evil industry”, “I profited from the mental and physical abuse the children went through” and “the abuse of children in any situation is abhorrent”. During the treatment you expressed remorse and shame for what you had done and described yourself as “mortified by what I did I am so ashamed”. You said “when I look back, I am horrified by how out-of-control my behaviour was”.
37In his report of 20 May 2019, Dr Barth stated:
“Mr Smith has continued to present as a very motivated participant in the treatment process and has made good progress. He has improved his insight into his offending conduct, developed a more advanced relapse prevention plan and has further consolidated his empathy into the destructive impact of his behaviour.”
38In addition to Dr Barth’s treatment, you have undertaken 105 drug urine screens between 20 April 2018 and 24 September 2019 to demonstrate that you no longer abuse illicit substances. The number of screens speaks to your commitment to remain drug free and avoid relapsing into the sort of behaviour that led to this offending.
39Your treatment remains ongoing and I will return to that issue shortly when dealing with a Pre-Sentence Report provided by the Office of Corrections.
Personal references
40Turning to the personal references provided on your behalf – you are fortunate to have the support of Christina Wilson who has known you since before the death of your partner in 2005 and with whom you now live. She sees you every day and states:
“The charges against Quentin are completely at odds with the man I know. I was completely shocked to hear of the charges as they are abhorrent and totally opposite to Quentin's character and his behaviour that I have observed over the last 15 years.
I can say that he has been devastated and humiliated by these events. He has had to resign from his position, has lost the career that he loved and has damaged his reputation in front of his family, friends, colleagues and the larger school and church community. Quentin is highly insightful and is remorseful about his actions. Every day Quentin has to confront what has occurred and he has had to develop strategies to cope with his feelings. He has been seeing a psychologist, Dr Mathew Barth regularly, and this has been of great assistance.”
41David Wain who has been a close friend states:
“I was profoundly shocked when Quentin told me about the charges against him. I knew that he was going through difficult times for many months, due to extraordinary presume at work, and I had been making a point of regularly spending time with him to offer what support I could, but I had no idea things had become so serious. I immediately invited Quentin to stay with me and saw first hand the devastating effect of losing his career in such an ignominious fashion and the public humiliation of having his good name destroyed in the media. He remained with me for four months, and I would gladly welcome him back to my home at any time.
The charges against him represent a tragic failure of empathy, totally out of character for Quentin, and I believe they could only be a response to exceptional circumstances. In the many years I have known Quentin, I have never known anything like this to take place.”
42Shelia Mallia, a colleague, confirms the pressures you were subject to in your work. She was completely shocked and appalled by your offending but remains supportive. Marian Saldanha was also a colleague and has benefited greatly from the support you have provided to her professionally. Susan Nixon likewise benefited and describes you as an intelligent and intuitive teacher. Michael Firth has known you since 2004 and states:
“When I found out about what Quentin was charged with, I was saddened, surprised and shocked. For someone who has such strong character and standing in the community, this was something out of left field. I felt that this was something completely out of character for the man I know. I have always been in regular contact with Quentin and have continued to since these charges were laid and continue to consider him a close friend.”
43Kieran McGregor is another close friend who noticed you had been behaving somewhat differently and were more withdrawn from your normal friendship group during the offending period. He stated:
“It has been an utter shock to hear that Quentin was arrested and charged with multiple offences. It comes completely out of character and it is not the Quentin Smith that I have known for the last 14 years or so. This has been a complete surprise and reflecting on it, has made no sense to me at all. It is not in keeping with the Quentin Paul Smith that I know. This is not something any of us ever thought Quentin would be involved in. We will continue to love him as our friend and provide support wherever he is.”
44Colleen Buck was the parent of a child you taught at St Bede’s College where you impressed as a teacher. She remains a good friend and will continue to support you despite these charges.
45Finally a reference was provided by Sally Dane who was also a colleague and attests to what she describes as the empathetic, engaged, considerate and accommodating approach you took to the needs or her students who were hearing impaired. She regards the offending as completely out of character, she had never detected any concern or disquiet from any staff or students as to your professional conduct.
46In my view, those references were impressive and will be taken into account in your favour.
Prior convictions
47Although you have two prior convictions arising out of one appearance at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on 13 October 2003 for behaving in an offensive manner and wilful exposure, for which you were convicted and fined a total of $200, it should be noted that those charges occurred in the context of potential sexual activity with another adult male. I regard those matters as irrelevant for the purposes of imposing sentence in this matter.
Defence submissions
48
In summary, Mr Trood relied upon your early plea of guilty, your previous good character and lack of relevant prior convictions, your co-operation with investigators, delay and what he submitted were your excellent prospects for rehabilitation. In putting that last submission he emphasised the 105 clean drug screens, the extensive sex offender treatment you have undertaken with
Dr Barth voluntarily and the finding from Mr Newton that, with treatment, your risk profile as to recidivism has trended downwards from ‘moderate’ to ‘moderate-low’ and is expected to continue to decline given the trajectory of your treatment.
49On the strength of those matters he submitted that you should be sentenced to a term of imprisonment but released on a Recognizance Release Order (RRO) and that that should take place immediately in respect of charge one, and that you should be sentenced to a Community Correction Order (CCO) in respect of charges two and three given that the principles in Boulton’s case[1] do apply to those state charges. The fourth charge, he submitted, should be dealt with by way of a non-conviction fine given your lack of history.
[1] Boulton; Clements; Fitzgerald [2014] VSCA 342
Prosecution Submissions
50Turning to the submissions made by the prosecution. The maximum penalty in relation to charge one is 15 years' imprisonment. In respect of charges two and three it is 10 years' imprisonment and in respect of charge four, provided I am satisfied, as I am, that the possession was not for a purpose related to trafficking, the maximum term of imprisonment is 12 months.
51Mr Darby submitted that the material accessed and possessed here depicted predominantly prepubescent and adolescent males. In relation to charge one, 48% of the files located were category two and 28% were category four. The files depict children aged as young as six and seven. In relation to charge three, 41% of the files possessed were category two and 35% were category four. In particular, the category four videos depicted videos of male children being orally and anally penetrated by adults. The single category five video relevant to charge three depicted multiple male adolescent children performing acts of bestiality by penetrating a pony or a small horse and that material was particularly depraved.
52The video which is the subject of charge two depicts an adolescent male being anally penetrated by a dog with, as I have said, you depicted as masturbating in the webcam frame in the corner of the screen capture.
53The total number of files involved, it was acknowledged, was relatively low when compared to other cases of this kind that too frequently come before these courts. Children are abused and exploited it was submitted and the production of this material and those who make it and make use of it, feed upon and encourage such exploitation and abuse.
54It was not contended in this case that you sold or distributed any of this material or that you sought to profit in some way from this offending. Those matters do not mitigate what you have done, but they do help to locate the relative seriousness in comparison with other cases.
55The prosecutor submitted that the seriousness of charge one was elevated by the fact that you had regularly used the Internet over a reasonably significant time to access this sort of material.
56Mr Darby further submitted that it was of concern that you held the position of deputy principal at St John’s College at the time you engaged in this offending. It was not contended however that there was any link between your work as a teacher and the commission of these offences. Nor was it submitted that in these circumstances your status as a teacher aggravated sentence.
57The prosecutor acknowledged that you had made significant progress in addressing your drug abuse and through your treatment had shown evidence of shame, remorse and developing insight. However it was submitted that these matters together with your previous good character should not be allowed to overshadow the objective seriousness of these offences.
58Mr Darby referred me to four cases which were relied upon as providing some comparative assistance. They were Miao v R[2], Fedele v R[3], DPP(Cth) v Zarb[4] and Heathcote (A Pseudonym) v R[5].
[2] [2017] NSWCCA 89
[3] [2015] NSWCCA 286
[4] [2014] VSCA 37
[5] [2014] VSCA 347
59The prosecution ultimately submitted that in light of all the relevant circumstances a sentence involving a term of imprisonment was required, however how that term was to be served was a matter for the Court.
Consideration
60As to my analysis of these submissions, I should say at the outset that the depravity of this type of offending is unfortunately only too well-known to this Court. Behaviour of the kind that you engaged in does indeed feed upon, and encourage, the abject exploitation of innocent young children. It is well accepted that child pornography offences are not victimless crimes and it follows that the primary purpose of the sentence imposed in cases of this kind should be to deter others from engaging in like offending.
61When compared with other cases, some of the material you accessed is particularly shocking and disturbing. The video the subject of charge two is a case in point. That said, the number of files you accessed and possessed is comparatively low and it is essentially for that reason that I have formed the view that I should treat your conduct as tending toward the lower end of the range of seriousness for this type of offending.
62I also agree with the prosecutor that it is very concerning that you should engage in this offending whilst working as the deputy principal of a secondary school. In the absence however of any proven, or indeed suggested, link between your work and your offending, your sentence will not be increased by reason of your status as a teacher. I have also taken into account the fact that your teaching career is effectively over.
63You told police that you were relieved to have been caught and that you could now stop your offending. In this respect you have been true to your word. You have demonstrably stopped abusing drugs, and you have committed yourself to a sex offender treatment program which appears to be achieving excellent results. Taken together with your plea of guilty entered at an early stage, your expressions of remorse, which I accept as genuine, and the support provided to you by your friends, I am satisfied that you do in fact have excellent prospects for rehabilitation.
Community Correction Order Report
64With that in mind you were assessed for your suitability for a community correction order and a very detailed and helpful report has been provided to the Court and to the parties. That report surveys the circumstances of your offending, your personal circumstances and the treatment you have undertaken since being charged. It concludes with the following remarks:
“Mr Smith is a 50-year-old man with a limited criminal history. He has no prior involvement with Community Corrections. Mr Smith has been assessed utilising the LS/RNR tool. He is assessed as Low risk of re-offending with his main criminogenic needs being identified as Alcohol/Drug problem, Leisure/Recreation/ Education/ Employment and Criminal History. It is evident that Mr Smith is in the formative stages of developing insight into his offending behaviour, he has demonstrated a willingness to continue to address the issues that have been outlined above and develop the coping skills necessary to manage personal stressors in his life with more adaptive and pro-social behaviour.
Considering the above information, Mr Smith is assessed as suitable for a Community Correction Order. Overall Mr Smith demonstrated a willingness to comply with the conditions of a Community Correction Order if imposed.”
65In light of this report, I find Mr Trood’s submission that it would in effect be counter-productive of the longer term community interest to interrupt your rehabilitation to be persuasive. The quality and extent of the work you have done to address the causes of your offending has been exceptional.
Sentence
66Section 17A of the Commonwealth Crimes Act, which is applicable in respect of charge one, states that:
A court shall not pass a sentence of imprisonment on any person for a federal offence, ...unless the court, after having considered all other available sentences, is satisfied that no other sentence is appropriate in all the circumstances of the case.
67Given your commitment to your rehabilitation, and taking into account all of the other matters put in mitigation, I have concluded that whilst a term of imprisonment is more than appropriate on charge one, such sentence as will be imposed should be effectively suspended through the mechanism of a Recognizance Release Order.
68To further ensure the success of your rehabilitation and thereby the protection of the community you will be placed on a Community Correction Order in respect of charges two and three. Mr Smith would you mind standing please. You will be sentenced as follows:
69On charge one, using a carriage service to access child pornography material, you will be convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months, such sentence to commence this day 31 October 2019. I will further order, however, that pursuant to section 20(1)(b) of the Commonwealth Crimes Act that you be released forthwith upon you entering into a recognizance in the sum of $2,500 to comply with a condition that you be of good behaviour for a period of 12 months.
70On charge two, intentionally producing child abuse material, and charge three, possessing child abuse material, you will be convicted and, with your consent, placed on a Community Correction Order for a period of 18 months. The conditions of the order beyond the core conditions will be that you be subject to supervision, that you perform 200 hours of community work, that you undertake assessment and treatment for drug abuse and that you undertake assessment and treatment for sexual offending.
71On charge four, being the charge of possession of GHB, you will be without conviction fined $300. If the fine is not paid to the Registrar of the County Court on this day, the fine will be referred to the Director of Fines Victoria for collection and management under the Fines Reform Act 2014 (Vic).
72I will further declare pursuant to section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) that but for your plea of guilty you would have been sentenced to a total effective sentence of 2 years and 3 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 months.
73By reason of the commission of these offences, I will also declare pursuant to section 34(1)(c)(ii) of the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic) that you will be subject to the reporting obligations of that Act for the rest of your life. Take a seat please.
74First of all, Ms Linfoot, are there any matters arising from those sentencing remarks that you want to raise?
75MS LINFOOT: No, Your Honour, but could I just confirm that the good behaviour period is 12 months?
76HIS HONOUR: Twelve months, yes.
77MS LINFOOT: Thank you. I will prepare the recognizance orders.
78HIS HONOUR: Mr Trood.
79MR TROOD: Nothing to add, Your Honour.
80HIS HONOUR: What remains, Mr Trood is for me to explain the conditions of the order - - -
81MR TROOD: That is correct, Your Honour.
82HIS HONOUR: - - - to your client and then I will have that document provided to you and if you would not mind having him sign it and also there will be some documents under the Sex Offenders Registration Act.
83MR TROOD: That is also correct, Your Honour, yes.
84HIS HONOUR: And if you would not mind facilitating that as well, Mr Trood, thank you.
85MR TROOD: Certainly, Your Honour.
86HIS HONOUR: Mr Smith, you can remain seated for a moment but let me just explain one more thing to you if I may. As I have indicated to you, I intend to place you on a community correction order for a period of 18 months. I must explain to you that part of the conditions of that order, its core conditions are that you not commit another criminal offence, that you must comply with any obligation or requirement prescribed by the sentencing regulations, that you must report to and receive visits from representatives from the Office of Corrections and that you must report to them within two clear working days of this order commencing. You must let the Office of Corrections know within two clear days of you changing your address. You may not leave Victoria without first getting permission from them and indeed you must obey all lawful directions given to you by the representatives of the Office of Corrections.
87As I have indicated, the additional conditions of your order will be that you be subject to supervision, that you perform 200 hours of community work and that you undertake treatment and rehabilitation with respect to drug abuse and sexual offending. Now, it is important you understand what those conditions are and the effect of those conditions, Mr Smith. In particular, were you to breach this order you would be brought back before me and likely prosecuted for that breach and also at risk of being re-sentenced in respect of the matters for which you have been given the community corrections order. Do you understand all that I have said?
88OFFENDER: Yes.
89HIS HONOUR: Are you prepared to consent to undertake the order?
90OFFENDER: Yes.
91HIS HONOUR: Very well. I will hand the document down to you so that that can be signed, thanks, Mr Trood.
92MS LINFOOT: Your Honour, I have prepared the draft recognizance release order which I will hand up now.
93HIS HONOUR: Yes, I might just have a look at that if I may, thank you. That seems in order. I will have Mr Trood also look at that and I will sign it once the offender has signed it.
94MR TROOD: Whilst I am doing that, Your Honour, might Mr Hargraves approach Mr Smith with the - - -
95HIS HONOUR: Yes, certainly. Yes, of course.
96MR TROOD: - - - community corrections, having checked it.
97HIS HONOUR: I have signed those orders. Are there any other ancillary orders sought, Ms Linfoot?
98MS LINFOOT: Not from the prosecution's perspective, Your Honour.
99HIS HONOUR: Yes, all right. Unless there is anything the parties raise - - -
100MS LINFOOT: No, Your Honour.
101HIS HONOUR: - - - I will stand down. Thanks, Mr Carlisle.
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