STATE OF TASMANIA v DWAYNE JEFFREY BELL 18 DECEMBER 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Mr Bell has pleaded guilty to a charge of assault. He has also pleaded guilty to three summary offences that I will deal with under s 385A of the Criminal Code.
The assault occurred on 10 September. The victim of the assault was Mr Bell’s then partner. They had arranged to separate. They have a 2 year old child. Mr Bell came home drunk, told his partner that their child would not be leaving him, said something that caused her to look into the child’s cot, and then commenced to assault her by pulling her hair and pulling her backwards. In one hand he had a sword that was about 30 centimetres long. He held that to his partner’s throat, and threatened to stab her father with it if he and she tried to take the child away from him. He let go of his partner, but said something to her about her false teeth, and then hit her to the mouth, causing a tooth to pierce her lower lip. The child was awake and crying in the cot. Mr Bell’s brother entered the room and tussled with him, giving the complainant an opportunity to take the child and leave.
Police officers came to the residence and arrested Mr Bell. At the Hobart Remand Centre he was found to have 66 morphine tablets or capsules of various types in his underwear, as well as a quantity of cannabis bud. He has pleaded guilty to possessing morphine, possessing cannabis, and unlawfully bringing unauthorised articles – the morphine and the cannabis – into a prison.
The complainant suffered a cut to her lower lip, and swelling to the mouth and one cheek. She did not require medical assistance. She did not provide a victim impact statement. It is clear that the incident was terrifying for her.
Mr Bell is 41 years old. He has numerous prior convictions for offences relating to dishonesty. He has received short prison sentences for assaulting police in 1999, some assaults in 2000, and breaching police family violence orders in 2007. He has been in custody ever since the day of the assault.
He did not flee or hide after the assault. He has pleaded guilty at an early stage. It is significant however that he exposed his daughter to family violence, and that she was distressed by it. Although the complainant did not need medical attention, this was a family violence offence involving the use of a sword, and the consequences could have been far worse. I think a prison sentence is warranted. At the moment, there is an interim family violence order in force. It is appropriate for me to replace it with a final order.
Dwayne Jeffrey Bell, I convict you on all charges and, as a global penalty, sentence you to six months’ imprisonment with effect from 10 September 2019. I direct that the assault be recorded on your criminal record as a family violence offence. I make a family violence order, in the same terms as the order made on 11 September 2019, which will remain in force for 12 months from today.