STATE OF TASMANIA v SAMUEL GEORGE NICHOLS ESTCOURT J
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE 22 OCTOBER 2019
The defendant Samuel George Nichols, aged 20, has pleaded guilty to one charge of wounding which has been committed to this Court for sentence, and to four counts of common assault and five associated breaches of a family violence order, and a further charge of emotional abuse or intimidation; all on complaint 52709/2019. I have agreed to deal with the summary matters pursuant to s 385A of the Criminal Code.
On 29 June 2019 the defendant was the partner of the complainant, Natalie Anne Grant, also aged 20. Prior to the defendant’s offending her and the complainant had been in a relationship attended by violence for a period of about 12 months, although they had known each other since they were about 14. They had been living together in a unit rented by the complaint for a period of about 6 months.
On 31 January 2019 a police family violence order was served on the defendant following the defendant spitting in the complainant’s face. The present offending was in breach of that order, and that offending was the defendant’s only relevant prior conviction, that is the previous offending.
During the evening of 29 June 2019, the couple were at home when an argument broke out. The defendant became agitated and hit the complaint to the back of the head using a glass bottle. The force used was sufficient to cause the bottle to break and cause a wound to the complainant’s head. She presented to the North West Regional Hospital with a 2 cm laceration over the base of her skull that required three sutures. They were removed on 8 July 2019.
On the morning of the following day, while the couple were in bed, the defendant’s phone rang. The complainant had asked the defendant to move out and she believed that the caller was the defendant’s father offering to come to the house to help the defendant leave and take some of his things. When the defendant refused to answer the phone, because he had indicated that he did not wish to leave, the complainant became upset and went to go for a walk. When she attempted to leave the house the defendant attempted to block her way and pushed her into the wall next to the door. The complainant fell to the floor and she begged the defendant to let her go, however he pulled her up off the floor by her dressing-gown to help her up after which he hit the ground with a hammer, blaming the complainant for the situation.
The defendant then punched the complainant to the left and right side of the ribs. After the complainant fell to the floor, the defendant punched her to the face and nose, causing her nose to bleed. After initially refusing to let the complainant get up to shower, to wash herself, the defendant let the complainant up and followed her into the bathroom. In the bathroom however, he spat on the complainant.
The defendant’s father arrived, and shortly thereafter the police arrived. The defendant was arrested and taken to the Burnie Police Station where he was interviewed. At the conclusion of the interview with police he was charged with wounding from the previous week, the common assaults to which I have referred, and the breaches of family violence order to which I have referred, as well as the offence of emotional abuse or intimidation for conduct between 1 January 2019 and 9 July 2019.
As a result of the common assaults the complainant attended the North West Regional Hospital again experiencing some tenderness to her ribs, pain from her nose and pain on coughing. She was discharged the same day and was recommended to take analgesics. There is no victim impact statement from the complainant.
The defendant entered an early plea of guilty on complaint on 12 July 2019. Apart from that fact there is little, if anything, mitigatory of these serious family violence offences which I record as such.
On the night of the wounding the defendant offers, by way of explanation, that he had far too much to drink and smoke. The couple are no longer together and neither have any intention of resuming the relationship.
The defendant had a difficult childhood. His parents had a fiery, but non-violent relationship. His mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was in and out of the Spencer Clinic throughout his childhood. He witnessed first-hand her strange behaviour and being taken in and out of psychiatric wards.
I have the benefit of a report from psychiatrist Dr Michael Jordan, who believes that the defendant may be in the early development phase of a psychotic disorder; characterised by periods of low mood and ideas regarding paranoia or that something is amiss in his world. This should be brought to the attention of the prison authorities and noted on his file for appropriate attention. It ought not to wait for a probation order to take effect upon his ultimate release from prison.
While it is now notorious that the community and the courts will not tolerate violence towards women and that such conduct would be visited with sentences of imprisonment, the defendant is still a young man and prior to his recent period in custody had never been to prison before. His rehabilitation is therefore a prominent feature in an appropriate sentence. Nonetheless, wounding is a serious crime and the defendant’s assaults after that incident were egregious, as was his continuing emotional abuse and intimidation. His offending was aggravated by being in breach of the police family violence order.
The defendant is convicted of each of the offences to which he has pleaded guilty. I acknowledge that there is some overlap and I impose a single sentence which reflects that, as well as his age, his relative lack of prior convictions for violence and a significant discount for his early plea of guilty and associated remorse.
The defendant is sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment, backdated to 9 July 2019. In view of the importance of rehabilitation, the defendant is to be eligible for parole after serving 10 months of that sentence.
I make a family violence order in the terms of the police family violence order to remain in effect for a period of 5 years from today.