STATE OF TASMANIA v BRENDAN JAMES NUGENT 1 NOVEMBER 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Mr Nugent, you have pleaded guilty to one count of wounding. I am also dealing with a related summary matter being one count of breach of a nationally recognised domestic violence order. The crimes were committed on 25 June 2023 against your partner. You and the complainant had been in a significant relationship for approximately 18 months and were living together in a caravan park in East Devonport, having recently relocated from Queensland. In March 2023, a nationally recognised domestic violence order was made against you. Conditions associated with that order included that you were not to commit domestic violence. The definition of “domestic violence” includes that you not commit physical abuse. The domestic violence order was enforceable in Tasmania pursuant to the Domestic Violence Orders (National Recognition) Act 2016. The domestic violence order was in force until February 2025.
On 25 June 2023, you had been consuming alcohol heavily. At approximately 2.45pm you crashed your motor vehicle on Wright Street in East Devonport. You were transported by a third party back to the caravan park where you were living. Upon your return you told the complainant about the motor vehicle crash. An argument ensued. During the argument you picked up a wine bottle, which still had some wine in it, and threw it towards the complainant. It struck her just above the right eyebrow and caused a three centimetre long and one centimetre deep wound to the lateral end of her right eyebrow. The wound was subsequently closed with glue. This act amounts to the crime of wounding, as well as a breach of the nationally recognised domestic violence order.
A nearby neighbour heard yelling from your cabin and went and knocked on the door. The complainant answered. She had blood running down one side of her face. The neighbour took the complainant away and police were called. Upon police arriving, they found you asleep on the couch in the cabin. You were arrested. You were interviewed the following day after you had sobered up. You told police about the motor vehicle crash and the ensuing argument. You told police you picked up a bottle and threw it at the complainant. You said you should not have done it. You said you would not have done it if you were not so drunk.
It is accepted by the State that I sentence you on the basis that the wound was recklessly and not intentionally caused. You have been remanded in custody since your arrest for the matter. I accept that you are remorseful for your behaviour. You expressed the same to police during interview and have pleaded guilty at an early stage of the proceedings when the matter was still before the Magistrates Court. Your plea of guilty is consistent with remorse, as well as having a practical value and demonstrating a willingness to accept responsibility for your conduct.
By way of prior convictions, you have none in Tasmania but have been before courts in Queensland many times, commencing when you were still a youth. As an adult, you have convictions for bail offences, breaches of probation order, offences of serious assault and offences against police, including assaulting, resisting and obstructing police. You also have convictions for drug offences and offences of dishonesty. In August 2013, you were convicted for the crime of assault occasioning bodily harm whilst armed in company. You were sentenced to a 12 month period of imprisonment. In 2015, you were convicted of serious assault against a police officer. You were sentenced to a nine month period of imprisonment concurrent with another sentence you were, at that time, serving. In June 2016, you were convicted of matters of dishonesty and wilful damage and required to serve a period of imprisonment. In August 2018, you were sentenced in the Brisbane District Court for crimes of assault occasioning bodily harm whilst armed in company and matters of dishonesty. You were sentenced to a period of imprisonment of three years and six months, some of which was suspended. More recently, in July 2022, you were sentenced in the Gladstone Magistrates Court for assaulting a police officer and obstructing a police officer. You received a period of suspended imprisonment. I note that period of suspended imprisonment was, in fact, operating when this crime was committed. It would have to be said that your history of violent offending is a poor one indeed.
You are 36 years of age. You grew up in Queensland and lived in various parts of that state, before relocating to Tasmania in 2023 in pursuit of employment. Your upbringing has been a most difficult one. Your father was an alcoholic and he regularly inflicted violence upon you. I am told you spent much of your childhood running away from home and living on the streets. You had potential in the sporting fields but your difficult upbringing limited your opportunities to pursue the same. Your father died when you were 15 and since then you have been living independently, often experiencing periods of homelessness. You spent time in youth detention in Queensland. You were abused in that institution. Compensation is currently being pursued by you via a redress scheme.
To your credit, despite your upbringing, you were able to obtain qualifications as a fitter and turner and have regularly held down periods of employment. You spent many years working on the railways, but the alcohol and drug issues that you developed during teenage years, have remained problematic for you, and have often resulted in you losing employment.
Your struggles with addiction is also reflected in your record of criminal offending. I am told that whenever you are confronted by stressful or difficult situations, past habits tend to resurface, and you return to the heavy use of alcohol and/or illicit substances. In the past, there have been suggestions that you suffer from PTSD or schizophrenia, but you have never settled into a regular or consistent treatment plan for those conditions.
You met the complainant 18 months before the crime was committed. I am told the relationship, generally, was a positive one. The two of you moved to Tasmania for a fresh start. You had obtained employment here and were, apparently, doing well. On this day, however, you consumed a considerable quantity of alcohol and the events I have described occurred. I am told the complainant remains supportive of you, and intends to stay in Tasmania with a view to continuing the relationship upon your release. You are hopeful she will assist you in coming to terms with your addiction issues, so that you can resume employment and pursue a more settled lifestyle.
As noted, you have been remanded in custody since the commission of the crime. You have been housed at the Southern Remand Centre and have experienced continual periods of lock down, being allowed only minimal time out of your cell. Your incarceration has been difficult for you and has adversely impacted upon your mental health. Whilst incarcerated, you have been endeavouring to complete what courses are available to you, but given your remand status, they have been limited.
Wounding is a serious crime, even when committed recklessly, because of the risk of the serious injury that may arise. Here, it is fortunate the complainant’s injuries were not more serious. Throwing a heavy wine bottle in the direction of someone’s head clearly has the capacity to cause significant injury. Fortunately, it appears as though the complainant’s wound resolved without the need for further medical intervention. The end result, however, could easily have been far worse. If the bottle had struck her a few centimetres to the side a serious eye injury, including perhaps the loss of sight, may have been the outcome. There is a strong need to deter others from such conduct, particularly when it occurs in a family violence context. Given your prior convictions, specific deterrence is also an important sentencing consideration.
I make the following orders. Mr Nugent, you are convicted of the crime of wounding and the count of breach of breach of nationally recognised domestic violence order. In respect to the summary charge, I make no further order. In respect to the crime of wounding, you are sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, backdated to commence on 25 June 2023, when you were taken into custody.