STATE OF TASMANIA v DENNIS EDWARD JONES 25 SEPTEMBER 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BRETT J
Mr Jones, you have pleaded guilty to two counts of assault.
The assaults were acts of family violence perpetrated by you against your then partner and her son on 5 September 2023. On the night in question, you and they had returned home after having a meal out to celebrate your partner’s son’s 20th birthday. You had been drinking alcohol and became angry after your partner received a phone call from her ex-husband. The violence started after you approached her aggressively. She cried out and her son intervened to protect her from you. You then turned on him, verbally abusing him in a threatening and intimidating manner. Your partner then approached you holding a wooden handle, obviously intending to protect her son. You punched her to the face with a closed fist, knocking her to the ground. You then punched her with a closed fist to her rib area and continued to punch and kick her while she was on the ground. You then took up the wooden handle and attacked the son with it, striking him repeatedly to the head, neck and body. As a result, he fled from the house. After this, you continued to kick and punch your partner to her face and body. This included a punch to the middle of her chest and another to the side of her face. While you were doing this, you told her that you would probably go back to jail, but it was worth it. This is quite a chilling comment. Not only was it obviously designed to demean her and cause fear and distress, it also clearly indicated that you were completely in control of what you are doing and were deriving some form of satisfaction from the violence. Eventually, she got away from you and also fled from the house. Both complainants ended up at the house of a neighbour, who took them to hospital.
Your partner suffered facial injuries, including numerous lesions to her face, a small laceration to her left ear and extensive bruising around the right ear, a split lip and significant bruising to her mouth, bruising to various parts of her body and tenderness over her chest and a fracture to her nose. At the hospital, she experienced difficulty breathing as a result of the pain from her injuries. Her son suffered swelling to his face, a small open wound on his head and bruising to his back, ribs and abdomen. He was also diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Both complainants have suffered significant ongoing psychological and practical consequences and have described in more detail the impact of your crimes in their impact statements.
You are now 48 years of age. You have a lengthy criminal history which consists largely of numerous drink-driving and other serious traffic offences and a significant number of assaults and family violence offences. In 2021, you were convicted of numerous family violence offences, including an assault perpetrated by you against a former partner. You were sentenced to a partially suspended term of imprisonment by the magistrate. In 2025, after the offending with which I am dealing, you were sentenced for a number of breaches of a family violence order relating to this complainant. In 2026, you were sentenced to a term of actual imprisonment for serious family violence offending committed in 2025 against another woman. The sentencing magistrate made a declaration that you are a serial family violence perpetrator when imposing this sentence.
In terms of your personal background, you obviously have had a serious problem with alcohol from a young age and for most of your life. I am told that you also started to use methylamphetamine a few years before committing the crimes for which I am dealing. Your use of that drug quickly developed into an addiction, and this caused a number of problems in your life including the loss of your commercial farming arrangement and the breakup of a long-term relationship. You have four children. You became alienated from them while you were using drugs although it seems that you have repaired these relationships in more recent times. I have also been told that you were subjected to violence from your stepfather in childhood. This may provide some explanation for ongoing problematic behaviour throughout your life, but it does not mitigate nor excuse conduct of the nature that you demonstrated on this occasion.
You have spent a long period in custody, both on remand and serving other sentences. Your counsel submits that during that time you have developed insight and have committed to rehabilitation. You have completed courses while in custody and when you have been released on bail, you have reengaged with your local aboriginal community and have participated in support programs provided by that community. You have also started to see a clinical psychologist. This is all commendable and probably necessary, but I do observe that the concrete steps you have taken have been relatively recent and with the trial relating to these crimes looming. There is little evidence of any real attempt or commitment to rehabilitation prior to these recent efforts. On the contrary, despite being offered sentencing options designed to encourage and support rehabilitation in the past, you have invariably failed to utilise these opportunities and have breached conditions and orders related to such sentences. You have also not been deterred by past sentences from continuing to offend, including by committing serious family violence. I am far from convinced that you have demonstrated a sincere and lasting commitment to rehabilitation and in any event given your age and criminal history, rehabilitation is not the most important sentencing consideration. Further, if are serious about reform, there is absolutely no reason why having to serve an appropriate sentence for past offending should impact your efforts in the longer term. You are old enough and obviously have sufficient community support to take that path if you are minded to do so.
The violence which you perpetrated on this occasion was brutal, sustained and cruel. It constituted serious family violence and was clearly calculated to intimidate and harm both complainants. Punching and kicking your partner while she lay on the ground was extremely abusive. So also was using a weapon to assault her son. Both victims were vulnerable and entitled to expect your support and protection rather than being violently assaulted by you. The crimes were committed in the context of ongoing violence and intimidation against your partner and she was particularly vulnerable as a result of this. Your conduct requires a significant sentence of imprisonment to denounce this conduct and deter others who are minded to perpetrate family violence from doing so. The sentence must also address the need for specific deterrence given your propensity for such violence. Family violence is rightly a matter of great concern to the community and will no longer be tolerated by the courts. If you engage in such conduct, you will suffer severe punishment. The question of your use of alcohol and methamphetamine is also a matter of concern. It is clear from your record that much of your past offending, whether it is by drink-driving or violent offending is related to the misuse of these substances. The only mitigating factor is your plea of guilty. The plea was entered shortly before the trial, although you were charged with persistent family violence, and indicated the plea immediately on the prosecution agreeing to accept a plea to the assaults. However, you had pleaded not guilty to assault when originally charged in the Magistrates Court. I do not think the plea is indicative of remorse, although I accept that it does have utilitarian value because it meant that a trial was not necessary.
In my view, the only appropriate sentence is a significant sentence of imprisonment. You have only recently finished serving the sentence imposed for the 2025 offending. The sentence I impose will be backdated to take account of the time which you have spent in custody which is not accounted for in another sentence. In my view, the principles of totality do not require any significant reduction in sentence. You committed the offences related to the sentence you have just completed in 2025 while on bail for these charges and the conduct was separate criminal conduct against a different complainant. The sentence imposed by me will be proportionate to the totality of criminality involved in both sets of offending. I will make a non-parole order. It will be for the minimum period permissible and that is in recognition of the plea of guilty and to give the Parole Board the opportunity to respond to any commitment to rehabilitation which you might demonstrate while in custody. I will also backdate the sentence to reflect all time spent in custody until now which has not been allocated to another sentence.
With these convictions, the preconditions for the making of a serial family violence declaration are satisfied, provided that I am of the opinion that the declaration is warranted. Having regard to your history of family violence, including the fact that you have perpetrated serious family violence against different complainants and the serious and brutal nature of the violence you inflicted in this case, I am of the view that a declaration is warranted, subject only to the question that you are currently subject to the declaration made by the magistrate in 2026. That declaration was made for a period of two years and if I thought that period is adequate to obviate the risk that you might commit further family violence offences, a declaration on this occasion would not be warranted. However, when I consider what I regard to be a clear propensity to engage in serious family violence which manifested on this occasion, I am of the view that a longer period is warranted. Accordingly, I intend to make a declaration for a period of five years.
The orders I make are as follows:
- You are convicted of the crimes to which you have pleaded guilty;
- You are sentenced to a global term of three years imprisonment, which will be backdated to 8 November 2025. You are not eligible for parole until you have served 18 months of that sentence.
- Pursuant to s 13A of the Family Violence Act, I direct that each crime be recorded on your criminal record as a family violence offence.
- Pursuant to s 29A of the Family Violence Act, I declare you to be a serial family violence perpetrator. The declaration is to remain in force for a period of five years. I direct that the declaration be recorded on your criminal record.
- I make a Family violence order in the following terms:
- You are not to stalk the complainant.
- You are not to directly or indirectly threaten, abuse or assault the complainant.
- You are not to be found within 100 m of, or contact the complainant directly or indirectly, including by any form of electronic or other communication.
- You are not to damage any personal or other property owned or possessed by the complainant.
- You are not to apply for any licence or permit under the Firearms Act
- You are not to be found in possession of a firearm, part of a firearm or any ammunition.
- The said order will take effect immediately and will remain in force indefinitely, that is until it is revoked or varied by a court of competent jurisdiction.