STATE OF TASMANIA v ROSE-LEE CLARKE 3 JUNE 2019
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Ms Clarke has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to two charges of aggravated burglary, a charge of stealing, and a charge of aggravated armed robbery. These crimes were committed by her in Fingal on the night of 25 March in the company of two other women. They burgled two adjoining houses, hoping to obtain some money.
There was no one in the first house. Ms Clarke climbed in through a window, and let her companions in through a door. They stole a six pack of beer. In relation to that house, Ms Clarke has pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary on the basis that she entered a property ordinarily used for human habitation with the intention of committing the crime of stealing once she got inside. The stealing charge to which she pleaded guilty relates to the six pack.
The other charge of aggravated burglary and the charge of aggravated armed robbery relate to what happened in the second house. The three women gained entry through a sliding door, thus committing the crime of aggravated burglary. The householder was at home alone. He had gone to bed for the night. He was 76 years old. Ms Clarke was armed with a metal baseball bat. One of the other women had a hammer. Ms Clarke was wearing tights over her face, as well as a beanie and gloves. One of the women demanded money, but the householder said that there was none in the house. Ms Clarke hit him repeatedly across the arms and legs with the baseball bat. One of the others struck him a number of times with the hammer. The third one called out that she had a gun and would shoot him if he did not give them his money. They did not get any money from him, but they stole his mobile phone. They tried to tie his hands with rope, but were unsuccessful because he was resisting. Eventually they fled, taking only the mobile phone.
The householder used a landline to phone a friend. The friend called an ambulance. He was taken to hospital at St Marys. On arrival he was anxious, upset and trembling. He had a deep laceration to the scalp about five centimetres long. It was repaired with sutures. He had terrible bruising to his face, torso and thighs. Two lower front teeth and one other tooth were broken. He was in hospital for four days. Since his discharge he has had to have more teeth extracted, and has had to obtain a lower denture for the first time. He has continuing psychological symptoms as the result of the attack, and still experiences pain to his body and his head. He is not as mobile as he used to be.
Ms Clarke is 24 years old. She has no prior convictions, even though she was a regular user of Ice before her arrest. She has two very young children. Shortly before committing these crimes, she left a partner, whom I was told was violent, became homeless, and was staying with friends. On the night in question, there was a plan to steal money to buy drugs. Ms Clarke and her companions drove from Launceston to Fingal for that purpose.
This was a very serious home invasion. It was premeditated. The three women armed themselves, expecting that violence would at least be threatened. The victim was a vulnerable elderly man who had been living alone for over 20 years. He was entitled to feel safe in his own home. His injuries were unusually shocking.
However there are a number of factors that entitle Ms Clarke to a shorter sentence than I would otherwise impose. First, as I have said, she has no prior convictions. Second, when police officers asked her to take part in an interview four days after these crimes were committed, she co-operated fully, admitted everything she had done, and provided them with useful information. Thirdly, she pleaded guilty at a very early stage, less than three weeks after she was arrested. Fourthly, she is horrified by what she did, and very sorry for the man who was so badly assaulted. But for those factors, I would be sentencing her to something like five years’ imprisonment. Because of those factors, I will impose a significantly shorter sentence, with the shortest possible non-parole period.
Rose-Lee Clarke, I convict you on all charges and sentence you to three years’ imprisonment with effect from 29 March 2019. You will not be eligible for parole until you have served 18 months of this sentence. I order you to pay Keith Hefford compensation for the loss of his mobile phone and his beer. I adjourn the assessment of that compensation sine die.