STATE OF TASMANIA v SCOTT STEVEN SAXELBY 28 SEPTEMBER 2020
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE BLOW CJ
Scott Steven Saxelby, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted arson. Nearly two years ago, on 13 October 2018, after a long period of feuding between you and a neighbour, you apparently lost your self-control. You took some petrol and you poured it on the front stairs of your neighbour’s residence and set alight to it. The fired burned for about a minute. It put itself out. The damage was minimal. You pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted arson on your first appearance in the Magistrates Court. For various reasons it has taken nearly two years to get to the stage where you are to be sentenced for doing this.
You were 52 then. You are now 54. You have had a terrible life. You have all sorts of medical problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder. You have some serious prior convictions, but you have not been in any trouble since 2014. You were psychologically at breaking point when you became involved in an argument with your neighbour on the day in question. He retaliated by kicking you in the head, as a result of which you needed to be treated in hospital.
In all the circumstances, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to impose any other penalty apart from a conviction. The significant thing about all this is that he did not own the place. It was not his property that you started a fire on. It was the property of a charitable organisation.
I convict you. I order that you pay compensation to Centrecare Evolve Housing for the damage suffered by that entity. I adjourn the assessment of that compensation sine die. That means I am adjourning it without a date.