STATE OF TASMANIA v MARK EDWARD HARRIS 17 SEPTEMBER 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Mark Edward Harris, you have been pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Code assault and one count of fraud. The charges arise from an incident that occurred on 13 August 2022. Two other people have also been charged with crimes arising from this incident. Their matters are yet to be finalised. They are your mother, whom I shall refer to as “JH”, and your mother’s partner, who I shall refer to as “DT”. At the relevant time, you were living with your mother. She resided at an address in Morris Avenue in Devonport. Her partner, DT, resided at an address in Croft Avenue, also in Devonport.
The complainant is CT. He was aged 23 at the time of the incident. He usually resided in Victoria but at the time, was in Tasmania and was staying between your mother’s home and DT’s home.
It seems an issue developed between the complainant and your mother over money. She believed the complainant had taken money from her bank account without her permission. Shortly after midnight on 13 August, the complainant arrived at your mother’s home. You were there, as was your mother and DT. When the complainant entered the bedroom, where you were all gathered, both JH and DT began to yell aggressively at him. It is then alleged DT assaulted him. It is not necessary for me to go into details of that alleged assault. You are not said to be criminally responsible for that incident.
DT demanded the complainant provide his mobile phone, keys and wallet. The complainant handed them over. The complainant was then forced into the kitchen by DT. It is alleged that a further assault was perpetrated upon him by both DT and JH. Again, it is not necessary to go into the details of that assault, save that it was a serious incident, and it involved a number of blows being inflicted to the complainant’s head.
Thereafter, the complainant sat curled up on the floor for approximately 20 minutes. You were in the kitchen during this time and must have been aware of the violence that had already been perpetrated upon the complainant. You became verbally aggressive towards him. You started yelling at him and demanding that he do what you wanted. You told the complainant that if he did not start talking, you would get physical with him. The complainant did not reply to you. It seems you and DT became angrier with the complainant. Whilst he was on the floor in the kitchen, having already been badly assaulted, DT attempted to knee him to the head, but missed and his knee connected with the complainant’s arm. DT then punched him twice to the stomach. You are criminally responsible for these acts of violence. Whilst it was DT who delivered the physical blows, you were immediately present with him, also offering aggression to the complainant and were a party to this part of the violence that was inflicted upon the complainant. It is aggravating that you joined in on this assault, even though you were well aware that he had already been badly assaulted by both DT and JH.
After this incident, DT left the kitchen. You stayed with the complainant and continued to speak to him. Sometime after that, DT returned to the kitchen, and he had with him a tomahawk. Further violence was inflicted upon the complainant using the tomahawk. Both DT and JH are charged with wounding in respect to these acts of violence. You are not alleged to bear criminal responsibility for what occurred with the tomahawk. In terms of your moral responsibility, however, it is noteworthy that initially at least, you did not seek to intervene and prevent the weapon being used against the complainant.
Over the next hour or so, both DT and JH threatened the complainant and demanded that he hand over his car in lieu of the money that had allegedly been taken. DT told the complainant that if it did not get sorted out, he would take him for a ride in the boot and he would disappear. Further assaults were perpetrated upon the complainant. The complainant was also made to provide the PIN code to his phone and sign a piece of paper in which he purported to sell his motor vehicle to JH for the sum of $300. These incidents all occurred whilst the complainant was being subjected to threats and violence.
At one point, you transferred $163 from the complainant’s bank account to your personal bank account via your mobile phone. This was all the money the complainant had. The complainant had not provided permission for this to occur. This behaviour constitutes the count of fraud. You also changed the PIN code on the complainant’s mobile phone, rendering it inoperable.
At about 3.30 in the morning, DT and JH took the complainant to a shopping centre and left him there, threatening him that if he contacted the police, he would not receive the new PIN code to his phone and it would remain inoperable. The complainant nevertheless contacted police and requested assistance. He was transported to the Mersey Community Hospital. On route, he received a text message from you advising what the new PIN code for the phone was. When examined at the hospital, the complainant had a one-centimetre jagged open wound over the left cheek area, with associated swelling and redness. He also had swelling on his right forearm. The complainant returned to hospital two days later still experiencing pain. The pain was in his left forearm and also in his back. Additionally, there were grazes to the back of his left forearm, grazes on the outer aspect of his left ear and swelling and tenderness to the bridge of his nose. Obviously, you bear no criminal responsibility for the wound, but some of the other injuries may well have been sustained during the violence that you perpetrated upon him.
On 14 August 2022, members of Tasmania Police executed a search warrant at the Morris Avenue address. You, DT and JH were arrested. You participated in an interview with police. You told police that you knew the complainant but declined to comment on the assault allegations.
This must have been a horrible experience for the complainant. Over a period of several hours, he was subject to considerable violence and threats. Whilst it is accepted that your involvement was far less than DT or JH, you still involved yourself in a matter of serious criminality. General deterrence and denunciation are important sentencing considerations.
You are now 21 years of age. You were 18 at the relevant time. You have no relevant prior convictions, although in June 2024, so after the incident occurred, you were dealt with in the Devonport Magistrates Court for offences involving destroy property, resist a police officer, possess a firearm for which a firearm’s licence may not be issued, some bail offences, and offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. These matters were dealt with by way of a fine.
You are currently employed. I have received a reference from your employer, which confirms you are employed on a permanent full-time basis. The reference suggests that you are doing well in your employment. I also have regard to a letter that has been provided from YFCC, indicating that you have sought assistance for drug and alcohol counselling. It indicates your engagement in such counselling has been meaningful.
You experienced a difficult upbringing. You have no relationship with your biological father. You had a stepfather in your life between the ages of 5 and 14. You had a good relationship with him, but your mother separated from him when you were about 14, and contact has not been maintained. You moved out from your mother’s home at the age of 14. You were introduced to illicit drugs and began to use them on a regular basis. You moved back into your mother’s home when you were about 17. By this time, she had formed a relationship with DT and drug use within the home was common. This exacerbated your personal drug use. I am told you were using methylamphetamine at the time these crimes occurred. As noted, you have since attended at YFCC for drug counselling and to your credit, I am told you are no longer using illicit substances. You are focused on your employment and are hoping to do well in that regard.
I am told you now recognise that this incident went way too far. Initially, your understanding was that the complainant was to be threatened to obtain the money that your mother believed had been taken from her. Obviously, however, events proceeded far beyond that. You now appreciate the incident was serious and it is fortunate that the complainant was not further injured.
In my view, the objective seriousness of these crimes, even bearing in mind your limited participation, requires the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment. There is an obvious need to deter others from violence of this nature. The use of violence to settle grievances, perceived or real, is never acceptable. Courts need to adopt a stern approach in response to such unlawful conduct because if such an approach is not adopted, acts of retribution can soon escalate out of control, as is evident here. Given, however, your lack of prior convictions, your pleas of guilty, your young age, and your seemingly good prospects, I am satisfied it is appropriate to wholly suspend the period of imprisonment. However, I intend to require you to perform some community service as a condition of suspension to ensure there is some immediate punishment.
I make the following orders. You are convicted of the crimes to which you have pleaded guilty. I impose one sentence. You are sentenced to a term of six months’ imprisonment. The whole of that sentence will be suspended for a period of 18 months on the following conditions:
- That you are not to commit another offence punishable by imprisonment during that time.
- That you will perform community service for a period of 84 hours.
The Court notes that the sections referred to in s 24(5A) of the Sentencing Act apply to this condition. For the purpose of those provisions, you must report to a probation officer at the office of Community Corrections, Devonport, within two clear working days of today. The operational period of the Community Correction order is 12 months. You should clearly understand, Mr Harris, that the law is that upon breach of a condition of a suspended sentence being proved, a judge must activate it and make you serve it, unless it is unjust to do so. Therefore, if you wish to avoid serving the prison sentence I have just imposed, you must strictly comply with the terms of its suspension, that is, you must perform your community service hours satisfactorily, and you must not commit any offences punishable by imprisonment.