STATE OF TASMANIA v ADRIANNE BAUGH 26 SEPTEMBER 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BRETT J
Ms Baugh, you have pleaded guilty to the following crimes: one count each of aggravated burglary, assault and assault on a pregnant woman, and three counts of unlawfully destroying property. You have also pleaded guilty to the summary offences of stealing and motor vehicle stealing.
These offences were all committed on 3 March 2018, during what can best be described as a drunken and violent rampage. You had been drinking for some hours with your co-offender and a male. At around 12.45am, you and your co-offender went to the home of a woman with whom you had recently had a dispute. She saw you coming and tried to lock her door, but you forced your way into her home and violently attacked her. The attack included punches to her head, biting her on the arm and stomping on her right leg. The biting left punctures on the skin on her arm. You left her lying on the floor of her house. You went next to your neighbour’s unit, where you and your companion both banged on her windows and verbally abused her. During these events, her father arrived in his car. You stole a scooter from her father’s car and used it to damage your neighbour’s door and window, and then to smash the rear windscreen of the car. You then stole that vehicle, and drove it back to the unit of your first victim. It seems that your attack on your neighbour’s property was in retaliation for an incident earlier in that night, when either she or someone from her family had come to your house to complain about your conduct.
When you arrived at the unit of your first victim, you commenced to bang on either her door or the door of her next-door neighbour. In any event, the neighbour, a woman who was 36 weeks’ pregnant, came to her front door and told you to leave. One of you then struck her once to the right temple with a metal pole from the scooter, which had been broken off by your previous use of it. The blow cut her face near her eye and caused her to fall to the ground. You and your companion then spent some time verbally abusing her, before leaving when a member of her family arrived. At some time during these events, you had also smashed a window of her unit.
Needless to say, these crimes are extremely serious. In company with another, you invaded the homes of three separate people. You viciously assaulted two of them. The consequences of these assaults, particularly on the pregnant woman, could have been far more serious than they were. As it is, the impact statement from your first victim demonstrates that she has continued to be traumatised by what happened, and this is completely understandable. This would have been a terrifying experience for all of your victims.
The prosecution presented the case on the basis that this was a joint criminal enterprise between your co-offender and you. The victims cannot be sure which of you performed each specific act but it is of little consequence because you were clearly acting together and are equally criminally responsible for each of the offences. Further, I see no reason to differentiate between your actual culpability in respect of each offence. Your co-offender has absconded and has not yet been dealt with. Accordingly, no issue of parity arises in any event with respect to the sentence I impose on you.
You are now 32 years of age and were 30 when you committed these crimes. You have a limited criminal history, but it does include some offences against police, including assaults, committed in 2008. Your counsel has provided me with detailed information concerning your background. You have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder arising from a dysfunctional childhood. It is not suggested that this mental health condition has specific relevance to sentencing in the manner suggested in Verdins, although it is, of course, relevant to your general background. One consequence of your dysfunctional childhood was its impact on your education. You did not complete grade 10 and shortly after leaving school, found yourself homeless. You had a child when you were 21 and you are now the sole carer of that child. In 2016, while you were involved in a positive relationship, you fell pregnant but that child was, tragically, stillborn. The relationship did not survive this tragedy. The cumulative effect of the difficulties in your childhood and the more recent events, manifested in the problematic use of illicit drugs. You were in the grip of this drug problem when you committed the crimes and offences with which I am dealing.
Your counsel submits that your conduct on this night actually constituted a significant wake-up call for you. Soon after committing the offences, you resolved to make changes in your life and it would seem that you have been, to some extent, successful in doing so. You moved to Launceston, concentrated on the care and welfare of your son and pursued some education. I am told that you are close to completing TAFE courses which will help you find employment. You have broken contact with people you regard as a negative influence. This includes your co-offender in respect of these offences. You have also entered into a positive and supportive personal relationship. It comes as no surprise that your counsel has urged me to place emphasis on your rehabilitation in sentencing.
I have already commented on the serious nature of your criminal conduct. That conduct deserves appropriate punishment. In my view, the only appropriate sentence is imprisonment. However, I accept the submission that I should also take into account the positive changes you have made in your life and provide you with the opportunity to pursue the rehabilitative path which you appear to be pursuing. It is also appropriate, in my view, to take into account your child’s welfare. Of course, the fact that you abrogated your responsibility to him when you committed these crimes is an aggravating factor, but, in the circumstances, I cannot ignore the fact that you are his sole carer. Most importantly, I accept that you have over the last 18 months demonstrated your acceptance of your parental responsibility towards him and this stands very much to your credit. In the end, I have decided to impose a sentence of imprisonment to reflect the serious nature of the offending and to deter others from conducting themselves in a similar way. However, I will give you an opportunity to avoid actually serving the sentence by wholly suspending it. However, the suspension of the sentence will be subject to conditions which will include supervision by a probation officer.
Accordingly, the orders I make are as follows:
1 You are convicted of the crimes and offences to which you have pleaded guilty.
2 You are sentenced to a global term of 18 months’ imprisonment. The whole of that sentence will be suspended for a period of 18 months on the following conditions:
(a) That you are not to commit another offence punishable by imprisonment during that period.
(b) That you will be subject to the supervision of a probation officer. You must comply with this condition for a period of 18 months. The Court notes that the conditions referred to in s 24(5B) of the Sentencing Act apply to this condition. The operational period of the condition relating to supervision will a period of 18 months, and that period will commence from today.
(c) The following special conditions will also be included in the order:
(i) you must report to a probation officer within 3 clear days of today;
(ii) you must, during the operational period of the order, attend educational and other programs as directed by the court or a probation officer;
(iii) you must, during the operational period of the order, submit to the supervision of a probation officer as required by the probation officer;
(iv) you must, during the operational period of the order, undergo assessment and treatment for drug dependency as directed by a probation officer;
(v) you must, during the operational period of the order, submit to testing for drug use as directed by a probation officer;
(vi) the offender must, during the operational period of the order, submit to medical, psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment as directed by a probation officer.
3 The suspended sentence will also be subject to a condition that you perform 119 hours of community service. The Court notes that the conditions referred to in s 25(5A) of the Sentencing Act will apply to this condition, and these include that you must report to the probation officer within three clear days of today.
4 In relation to compensation orders, I make a compensation order in favour of Nathan John Smith in the sum of $550.
5 I make a compensation order in favour of Cassie Maree Lynd in a sum to be assessed. Assessment is adjourned sine die.
6 I note the prosecution application for a compensation order in respect of the premises occupied by Chantelle Smith, and adjourn the application sine die.