STATE OF TASMANIA v JACK RAY JOHN THOMPSON GEASON J
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE 12 AUGUST 2019
Mr Thompson, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and a charge of destroying property, an offence which occurred as part of the episode which brings you before the Court.
You were 19 at the time of the offending. At the time you were living in a unit behind another house in Lachlan, and the complainant lived in that house. At about 1.30pm on the day of this offence the complainant approached your unit. At the time you were having an argument with your partner. Apparently his purpose was to enquire as to her welfare. You accused him of interfering and you told him to go away. Your argument with your partner continued. He returned. He said words to the effect “that if you lay one hand on her, you are out of here” and he left. This angered you and you picked up a knife from the kitchen bench. You directed abuse towards him through a window, daring him to come back into the unit. You kicked a glass window near the door and it smashed. You then went outside with the knife. You walked towards the complainant and you directed further abuse towards him and you swung the knife in his direction. It did not make contact with his body but it tore his shirt. The complainant grabbed your wrist to protect himself before he fell to the ground. After this you left the property. You were arrested later that day, and you made admissions to police.
You told them that you “saw red”, as you put it, when the complainant became involved in the argument. You acknowledged to police that what you did was wrong and you said that when you get to a certain point you simply cannot control yourself.
It is fortunate for you, and for the complainant, that no injuries were sustained.
You have no prior convictions. I requested a pre-sentence report to assist me in framing a sentence. I record that I am assisted by the report. I think I said on the last occasion that my view was that you were at a cross-roads, and it was important that steps were taken to encourage your rehabilitation.
I am told that you have never held a position of gainful employment. You do not have any significant social or leisure activities that you enjoy engaging with. To some extent, your lack of involvement in such activities reflects the nature of your experience with your schooling, which appears to have been a negative experience characterised by bullying, as Mr Slicer has mentioned to me this morning. It also appears that you were overwhelmed by the demands school life made upon you, and that this affected your engagement.
I note that you have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and a generalised anxiety disorder. You appear to have on-going struggles with depression and self-esteem. All of these things militate against your engaging activities which will help give you a sense of purpose and a sense of having a future, and we need to turn that around.
It is of course necessary to impose a sentence which acts as a deterrent to you and others. An assault involving a knife has the potential to cause serious injury. I am satisfied that you are aware of the risks associated with your conduct on this day, and that you have reflected upon it, such that the likelihood of your reoffending is already significantly reduced. I discern that your response to the events on this day are in part attributable to your lack of ability to manage situations in an appropriate way. You have expressed shame for your actions and you acknowledge that it should not have happened. You have acknowledged that you need assistance in understanding your emotions and how to control them in an appropriate way. Those insights, emphasised by Mr Slicer in his plea give me confidence that you can develop yourself in a positive way and address these issues. I note from Mr Slicer that you have family support.
I acknowledge your early plea of guilty. I have decided that the appropriate way to deal with you is to approach the matter in a way which gives priority to your personal rehabilitation. This will be achieved, in my view, through engagement with the community corrections service. I have regard to the recommendations in the report in determining the appropriate orders.
Mr Thompson, in respect of each count you are convicted. I make a community corrections order for a period of 18 months. The community corrections order will contain, in addition to the statutory core conditions, a special condition that you must satisfactorily perform community service as directed by a probation officer for a period of 80 hours. That has a punitive element to it, but is also intended to assist you in engaging more in your community as I believe that this will be in your long-term interests. Case management will focus on your engaging with the appropriate psychological support services to address childhood trauma and additional support to link you with the appropriate drug and alcohol counselling to assist you. You will be encouraged to engage with local support services in order to achieve a measure of independence.
I am asked to make a compensation order in the sum of $150 in favour of the complainant which I do.
The nett effect of the order I have made today Mr Thompson is that, convictions have been recorded, you have 80 hours of community service that you will be required to undertake and you are to engage with the probation service who will assist you in dealing with the issues that, in my view, have contributed to your being before the Court today.