STATE OF TASMANIA v REP 5 FEBRUARY 2024
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE JAGO J
Mr REP you have pleaded guilty to 14 counts of assault, five counts of rape, one count of strangulation, one count of attempted strangulation, two counts of committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm and one count of indecent assault. These crimes were committed over a 48 hour period on 12 and 13 June 2023. The victim of your crimes was your then partner, whom I shall refer to as “C”.
You were 20, nearly 21 when these crimes were committed. C was 21. The two of you had met in November 2021 through social media and very soon thereafter commenced living together. You lived together in a number of remote rural areas where you were employed on farms. Within a few weeks of the relationship commencing you began to exhibit concerning behaviours. You sought to control C’s finances and also began to speak with her in an aggressive manner. Because of the remote nature of many of the properties where you lived, C was isolated. She was often left at home without transport as you would use her vehicle to travel to work. On occasion, you would also break or disable her mobile phone leaving her unable to contact anybody. Her isolation exacerbated her vulnerability.
In December 2022, C tried to leave the relationship. You reacted poorly. You terminated your employment and bombarded C with requests to resume the relationship. C gave in to those requests and the relationship did, in fact, resume. After its resumption you lost the SIM card to you mobile phone. You removed the SIM card from C’s mobile phone leaving her without any means of contacting people.
Your behaviour towards C was, at various points, controlling and abusive. There were occasions when you would humiliate her in front of work colleagues. You would damage her property, including her mobile phone so as to prevent her from contacting others. You would also call her names on occasion.
On 12 June 2023 you returned from work. You were in a bad mood and began verbally abusing C. You blamed her for having failed a drug test at work. You accused C of infidelity. C was standing near the front door of the residence. You grabbed hold of her by the throat using both of your hands and squeezed her neck. You pushed her against the wall as you did so. This is the first count of assault. C had difficulty in breathing. When she tried to yell out, you squeezed tighter. You released your grip on her neck and punched her to the right side of her head and arm. That is the second count of assault.
You then told C that you were going to source a firearm from her grandfather’s house and make her kill her uncle because he had apparently said something disparaging to you. You also threatened to use the firearm to kill her. You told her that if she did not obtain the firearm for you, you would pay someone to shoot her. You also threatened to rape her younger sister and her grandmother and said that you would slit her family’s throats. Understandably, C was petrified of your threats and what you might do to both her and her family. It is important to note that these were not threats made in isolation, but in the context of you having been violent towards her. What you said to her was cruel and frightening.
Later that same evening you and C went to bed. As she was lying in bed, you stood over her placed both of your hands around her throat, squeezed hard and choked her. Whilst you were doing this you said to her, “Let it go, just die”. This is the act of strangulation. You also threatened to rape her whilst you were strangling her. The complainant was endeavouring to scream out for help whilst this was occurring. You, however, had pinned her to the bed. You then forced her head towards your penis and made her perform oral intercourse upon you. This is the first count of rape. You then produced a knife from your pocket and told her that if she screamed you would kill her. You pointed the knife at her and said, “Do you want this knife up your arse or my dick up your arse? You choose.” This behaviour amounts to an assault by threatening gesture. You then used the knife to cut C’s pants off. You proceeded to rape her. You penetrated her vagina with your penis. She continually told you to stop, but you did not do so. You proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her until you ejaculated. This is the second count of rape.
You then told the complainant to get on her knees. She was, by this point, understandably petrified and did as she was told. You moved behind her and anally raped her by penetrating her anus with your penis. As you did this, you used your phone to film yourself raping her. You told the complainant to act as if she was enjoying it or you would hit her. You continued the anal rape until you ejaculated.
You went to bed and went to sleep. The complainant remained in bed beside you, but she was experiencing considerable pain and distress. She was crying. Her crying woke you up. You told her to shut up or you would give her a reason to cry.
Sometime later, in the early hours of the morning, C got out of bed to use the toilet. As she was exiting the en-suite, you were standing in the bedroom. You pushed her to the ground and sat on top of her. You did not say anything but tried to place a garbage bag over her head. C resisted and managed to grab the bag and rip it away from you. This behaviour amounts to the crime of attempted strangulation. In response to this, you put your hands around C’s neck and squeezed. This was a further act of assault. C put her hands up to her neck to protect herself. You pushed them back down and grabbed her wrist and squeezed hard. C heard her wrist crack. This is a further act of assault. A short time later you asked C if she would like to have a bath with you. You said to her, “If yes is not the answer then you’re gunna get hit.” C acquiesced and had a bath with you.
You and C later travelled to a local town. On route you told C you were sorry for hurting her and promised that it would not happen again. During this conversation you started laughing and said that you could not believe that you had broken her wrist. When C challenged you about the fact that you had raped her, you replied, “No, I didn’t. You’re my girlfriend. It doesn’t count.” Such a comment demonstrates, in my view, the arrogant disregard you had for C and her wellbeing.
You and C returned home. At around 11pm that night, C was sitting on the floor in the lounge room. You told her that she needed to go outside and obtain an animal cage from the garage. The cage was usually used for transporting a cat. It was approximately one metre by 0.5 metres. Because of her wrist injury, C could only use her right arm to carry the cage. She nevertheless brought it into the house undoubtedly intimidated by your behaviours. You placed it in the walk-in wardrobe. You then told C she had to get into the cage and you called her an animal. C initially refused to enter the cage. You said to her, “I’ll give you a choice, you get in it or I’ll put you in it.” Again, undoubtedly petrified by your abhorrent behaviour, C entered the cage. You latched it closed.
You left the room but returned shortly thereafter with a can of oven cleaner. You used a knife to split the can open and poured the contents of it over C’s head. The substance was caustic and burnt her neck. She spat on her hands to try and clean it off but was largely unsuccessful. This behaviour amounts to the first count of committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm. You then undid your trousers, exposed your penis and urinated on C. This act amounts to a further crime of assault.
You made C stay in the cage, covered in urine and oven cleaner. You laughed at her. You then told her to get out of the cage and take her clothes off. She did this. You took the clothes from her before forcing her back into the cage, leaving her there in just her underwear.
You subsequently returned with a piece of fencing wire and used the wire to tie the latch of the cage so C could not escape. You said to her, “You’re an animal. You stay in here. Do you understand me?” This behaviour amounts to a crime of assault by depriving C of her liberty.
You left the room before returning a short time later with a jerry can containing petrol. You told C you were going to pour the petrol over her and set her on fire. You opened the fuel can and acted as though you were going to pour it on her. She begged you not too. You, in fact, did not pour the petrol on her but nevertheless this behaviour was appalling and undoubtedly caused C great distress. It amounts to another crime of assault by threatening gesture.
You then left the room, turning all the lights off and closing the bedroom door. C was left in the cage, in her underwear, in the dark for a lengthy period of time. The whole experience must have been incredibly distressing, petrifying and humiliating. Approximately one and a half hours later, you returned and let C out of the cage. You directed C to go outside and turn the water pump on and have a shower. She did as she was told.
After showering, C came out of the bathroom naked. You told her to get onto the bed and said to her, “You get raped once a day.” You laid on the bed and told C to use her hand to rub your penis. She did this. You then told her to, “suck your penis”. You pushed her face towards your penis and forced your penis into her mouth. This is a further act of rape. You then forced C to lick your anus. This amounts to the crime of indecent assault.
C tried to move away from you. As she did this, you grabbed hold of her and bit her on the back of the neck. She screamed and you said, “you scream, you get murdered.” This is yet another act of assault. You then forced C onto the bed, sat on top of her and raped her by penetrating her vagina with your penis. You continued until you ejaculated. This is a further act of rape.
The complainant went and sat in the lounge room. You followed her, took her leather handbag and removed the strap from it. You used the strap to whip her on her back and to the back of her legs. You demanded she sit there whilst you did this. You told her to stand. You continued to whip her with the strap to her legs. You slapped her in the ribs and used the buckle end of the strap to whip her further. C was in pain and crying. She was trying not to make a sound because she was so scared, but had tears rolling down her face. This behaviour amounts to a further count of assault.
After you had hit her with the bag strap, you told her not to move. You went to the kitchen and obtained a pair of tongs from the sink. You removed the plastic ends of the tongs and placed the metal part into the wood fire to heat the ends. Once the ends of the tongs were glowing red, you approached the complainant and pressed the tongs against her left forearm. You said to her, “shut up and take it.” This caused pain for C. You then went back to the fire, reheated the tongs before returning to C and pressing the tongs into her left breast. Again, this caused her pain. You reheated the tongs for a third time before placing them onto her left thigh and left buttock. C suffered burns as a result of these assaults. These acts amounted to the second count of committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm.
During this ordeal you also used a cigarette lighter to set fire to portions of C’s hair. This is an assault. On another occasion you stood on C’s feet whilst wearing steel capped boots. You also punched her to the stomach. At one point you retrieved a dog chain and placed it around C’s neck. You used the strap from the handbag to tie C’s wrists together. You put the strap in the dog collar and then proceeded to drag C around the house by the strap and collar. This is a further act of assault. Whilst you were doing this, you were laughing at the complainant.
At one point you told her to face the corner of the room whilst you went to the bathroom. C stood there facing the wall for about 10 minutes. When you returned you told her to sit on the ground. ou rubbed faeces on C’s chest, legs and all over her back. You rubbed faeces into some of the burns you had caused, which caused them to sting. You rubbed faeces through her hair and all over her face. After you had rubbed faeces over her, you called her a “piece of shit”. You told her to go to the bathroom and clean herself. When C asked you how she was going to do this given she was tied up, you said to her “I don’t give a fuck how, just do it, you’re disgusting.”
After a period, you removed the chain from C’s neck and told her to take a shower. You stood near the bathroom door whilst she did so. You still had C’s wrists tied while she was trying to shower. C was able to wipe most of the faeces from her front but was not able to reach her back. After the shower you told C to go outside with you whilst you had a cigarette. You asked her if she wanted a cigarette burn on her hand or on her breast. She held out her hand whilst you placed the lit cigarette against her skin. This is a further act of assault.
Eventually, you returned inside. You told C to get onto the bed. She was naked. She had no blankets or coverings. You told C that she could not go to sleep but had to stay awake to ensure that she got you up for work the following morning.
The next morning C woke you. You told her that she was going to have to come to work with you. She put on the same clothes that she had been wearing when you urinated upon her because no other clothing was available. Both of you travelled in the vehicle to your employment. During the drive, you were calling her a whore. You were running slightly late and told her that it was her fault and that after work you would take her home and put her in a barrel filled with acid so that nobody would find her.
When you arrived at your employment, you left to commence milking. C stayed in the car. She waited until she thought it was safe to escape and then ran from the vehicle. She was petrified that if you caught her fleeing, you would kill her.
She ran to a house approximately one kilometre away. When she arrived, she knocked on the door. A female occupant answered. C said to her “can you please help me, he is going to kill me.” That is reflective of her state of mind. C was observed by the occupant to be soaking wet and crying hysterically.
Shortly after, you also went to this residence. It was obvious to the occupant that C was petrified of you. She told the occupant that she believed that you were going to kill her. Fortunately, the occupant told C to stay in the bedroom and went to the front door and demanded that you leave the property. You initially ignored this and tried to enter the house. You stood at the front door, staring at the occupant before finally backing away, entering your car and leaving the residence. The occupant called her partner, who, in turn, called police. Police attended and transported C to the police station. She was observed to have a number of injuries including burns to her breast, thigh and buttock.
Some hours later police were made aware of a concern for welfare incident following you having made a phone call to Beyond Blue. You had told the Beyond Blue operator that “something had happened with your partner the night before and you had messed up.” You were later arrested. You participated in a record of interview on 16 June 2023. You told police you had a limited memory of the event and did not know the full extent of how badly you had hurt the complainant. You said to police that you remembered that you had run out of “weed” and had taken your anger out on C. You told police you recalled hitting her and telling her to get into the cage. You told police that you remembered that C was crying the whole time. You said that when you realised what you had done, you felt suicidal and made the call to Beyond Blue.
I have seen photographs of the complainant’s injuries. She suffered scratches to her face, a bite mark to the back of her neck, bruising to the base of her neck at both the front and back, swelling to the right ear, bruising to her right ear, bruising to the front and back of both legs, a wound to her left breast where she had been burnt, two wounds at the top of her right thigh where she had been burnt, multiple scratches to her back, bruising to both arms, scratches and bruising to her hands and feet. C also reported that as a consequence of the rapes, she suffered soreness and bleeding from her anus.
It is difficult to put into words how appalling your behaviour towards C was. For 48 hours you subjected her to the most harrowing of experiences. You not only caused her physical harm, but you treated her with disdain and indignity. Your moral culpability for these crimes is extremely high. I have carefully considered the impact statement of the complainant. It is a forceful description of the devastating effect your crimes have had upon her. It is clear that she has been deeply affected by your behaviour. Throughout the ordeal she was terrified that she was going to die. She continues to experience constant nightmares and flash backs of the events. She can no longer cope with looking at every day items, such as kitchen tongs or petrol, because of what you did to her. Past times she used to enjoy are now lost to her because of her association with them and what you did.
She is sleep deprived, constantly scared, hyper-vigilant, anxious, self-conscious and has become socially isolated. Her injuries took a long time to heal and she continues to experience pain in the wrist on occasions. She has been left with scarring on her face, hand, arm, back, chest, legs and buttocks. The impact of your crimes upon her has been profound and it likely to be long term.
You are now 21 years of age. You have no prior convictions. You were raised in a household where family violence was common. I am told that your father exhibited an extreme level of violence towards your mother, regularly using weapons against her. On occasion, your father also turned his violence upon you. For example, on one occasion he cut you with a whipper snipper. You parents separated when you were eight. Thereafter, you had no relationship with your father. Your mother had an addiction to illicit substances and died from organ failure in 2013. Following your mother’s passing, you went to reside with your maternal grandparents. They offered you a period of stability. You were able to complete your schooling until the end of grade 10. Thereafter you have worked on a number of farming properties.
I am told you struggle to understand or explain the enormity of your behaviour towards C. You were having difficulties in terms of your drug use at the time but you accept that in no way justifies what you did. I am told you are ashamed of your behaviour. It counts in your favour that you pleaded guilty at an early stage to these charges. That demonstrates an acceptance of responsibility and most importantly has saved C from the ordeal of giving evidence. I have no doubt that would have been a most difficult experience for her. Outside of the plea of guilty, however, there is very little to mitigate your behaviour. I am not told of any mental health condition that is relevant to this behaviour. There is nothing to suggest you did not understand the cruelty and likely consequences of your actions. I take into account your still relatively young age, but given the gravity of the crimes you committed, any entitlement to leniency which arises from age or prospects of reform must be subordinate to the dominant sentencing considerations of general and specific deterrence, denunciation, punishment and vindication of your victim.
There are a number of aggravating features of your crimes. They happened in a family violence context, where C was isolated and vulnerable. The seriousness of family violence has been repeatedly emphasised by this Court. It is insidious and a matter of great community concern. The sentence I impose must reflect that. Your crimes did not occur in isolation, but occurred within the context of a relationship that was marred by your controlling and intimidating conduct, and your emotional and verbal abuse. You abused the trust inherent in any intimate relationship. Some of your behaviours were especially cruel, demeaning and humiliating. Two of them involved a specific intent to cause grievous bodily harm which is to be regarded more seriously than a crime where such an intent is absent. The sexual crimes you committed against C were degrading and humiliating and indicative of your intent to control and dominate her, and your selfish disregard for her bodily integrity. C must have been left feeling completely demoralised and degraded. Reasonable members of our community would be appalled by your behaviours. I note many of the assaults involved pressure being applied to the neck and, on one occasion, you strangled C. Such an act is a particularly dangerous form of attack. It is indicative of the exercise of power and control and often leads to long term psychological and physical impact. Amidst all the physical violence, you also made a number of threats to kill C. Given the unpredictability and cruelty of some of your acts, those threats must have felt very real, thereby exacerbating the distress and fear for C.
Whilst I take into account that your crimes occurred over a relatively short period of time, some 48 hours, every one of those hours must have been horrific for C. You persistently targeted her with violence, each time re-exposing her to trauma. You degraded her and treated her with disdain. Your behaviour must have created a situation whereby she felt completely vulnerable, overwhelmed and powerless. These incidents occurred in the home in which she lived, a place where she was entitled to feel safe. Moreover, she was entitled to be treated with respect by her partner.
In my view, this is an exceptionally serious matter and beyond the plea of guilty, there is little which mitigates your conduct. But for the plea of guilty, in my view, an appropriate sentence would have been in the vicinity of 25% higher than that which I intend to impose. There is no question your conduct deserves severe punishment. Whilst of course the sentence cannot rectify the harm you caused, it should offer a proportionate response to that harm and reflect the extent of your criminality, whilst making allowance for principles of totality and proportionality. As I have noted, principles of denunciation, general deterrence and vindication of C are paramount sentencing considerations. The Court also has an obligation to impose a sentence that is sufficiently heavy to be effective in deterring others who may be minded to act in a similar way. This is essential in the Court fulfilling its obligation to reflect the broader community’s increased intolerance for family violence.
That said, I am conscious that given your age, prospects of reform are viable and the sentence I impose should not be so harsh as to crush your incentive to pursue such reform. Because of your still young age and your lack of prior convictions, I consider it appropriate to allow for parole at the earliest opportunity. Such an order does not mandate your release on parole at that time but it will provide the Parole Board with the opportunity to respond to any demonstrated commitment to rehabilitation and reform.
I make the following orders:
You are convicted of all matters. I impose one sentence. You are sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 10 years and 6 months. That sentence will commence on 14 June 2023. I order that you are not eligible for parole until you have served one-half 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.
I make a Family Violence Order in the same terms as dated 6 September 2023. That order will remain in place until varied or revoked by a court of competent jurisdiction.
I make an order pursuant to the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005. I order that the Registrar place your name on the register and that you comply with the reporting obligations under that Act for a period of ten years following your release from prison.