DPP v Devereux [2025] VCC 1077

1. You were raised in Mildura. You were 20 years old at the time of offending. You have a close and supportive relationship with your family including your father who gave evidence on your plea. At the time of this offending, you were living at your father's house, but he was working in Western Australia and had been away for 14 months. I was told that your drinking and drug use significantly increased when you lived alone in your father's house. Your parents are divorced but your family remains supportive.
2. A final progress report dated 17 June 2024 from the Court Integrated Services Program was tendered on your plea. It outlines your history with consuming alcohol, starting from the age of 15 years of age. At 19 years of age, you reported drinking daily and prior to your remand you said you were drinking

10 beers a day during the week, and much more on the weekend. You acknowledged that you had a 'serious problem with alcohol'. 3. You reported that age 16 you used cannabis once or twice a week. This increased to daily consumption at 19 years of age. You reported that you stopped using cannabis at age 20. You started using amphetamine and ecstasy at around 19 years of age. You experimented with LSD and cocaine a little later. You apparently no longer use LSD and ecstasy but at the time of your remand, you had been using cocaine and amphetamine.

1. Mr Morgan on your behalf submitted that a community correction order with some time served would be an appropriate disposition in the circumstances.

1. Mr O'Doherty on behalf of the prosecution submitted that a combined sentence is within range, conceding that time served to date would satisfy the custodial component.

1. Mr Morgan acknowledged that all sexual assaults are serious but submitted that your offending sits at the lower end of the scale. As to your possession of a firearm, he submitted that you naively thought it was 'cool'. He conceded that your handling of the firearm would have terrified Ms Fairbank. You were behaving oddly and erratically at the time.
2. Mr Morgan submitted that the firearm was gifted to you by your late uncle. Your father, Keiran Devereux, gave evidence that the firearm appears to be the same one that was used on the family farm near Ballarat. He said that he was unaware that you had the firearm.
3. Mr O'Doherty submitted that every sexual assault is a serious offence and the impact of your offending on your victim has been profound.
4. Ms Fairbank read her victim impact statement to the court. In it, she described feeling anxious and hypervigilant since the offending. She said she experiences flashbacks, struggles to trust the men in her life, and described feeling mentally and physically drained. She said she feels anxious going back to Mildura and lives every day in fear. She had dreamt of returning to Mildura to start a family, but your offending has engendered powerful negative emotions associated with the city and she cannot envision doing that now.
5. Yours is a lower end example of a serious offence. In saying that, I do not minimise the very powerful negative impact your offending has had on

the victim. She is to be applauded for the pluck and fortitude she exhibited in reading her victim impact statement.

1. Mr Morgan submitted that you have not used alcohol or drugs since your arrest. Your father gave evidence that you have been living with him and to his knowledge, you have not consumed alcohol or taken drugs since you were released from custody. He said that you have become much more focused and driven.
2. You were supported in court by your parents and your siblings. Mr Morgan submitted that your family is committed to your rehabilitation, and you are welcome to live with your mother, if your placement with your father does not work out.
3. You are currently completing a painting apprenticeship and your employer, Dwayne Reardon, described you as respectful, courteous and kind. He said that you are a vital cog in his business, and you have a key role in the future of his enterprise. He said that you have been open and honest about the charges against you.
4. A close friend of your fathers, Brett McKinnon, provided a character reference to the court. He is a mental health nurse practitioner. He has known you for 17 years and considers you respectful and courteous. He said that you have expressed remorse for your offending, and you are keen to improve yourself.
5. Another family friend, Samantha Proud, also provided a character reference. She has known you for over 20 years and views you as a respectful, kind-hearted, polite and considerate person. She said that you have expressed remorse and an understanding of the seriousness of your offending, in conversations with her. She said that over the past year you have made meaningful changes to your life focusing on your work, wellbeing, and connection with your family, to learn from your offending. She believes that you are capable of positive change.
6. You have a modest criminal history. You were fined in 2022 for a charge of robbery. Earlier that year you were fined for being drunk and disorderly. The three months you spent on remand for these charges was your first taste of custody. You have not undergone any offender specific programs whilst in the community, but Mr Morgan confirmed your willingness to enrol in such programs.
7. Mr O'Doherty acknowledged the steps you have undertaken to affect your rehabilitation, but expressed concern that your motivation might wane, once you have been sentenced. He submitted that if I was to impose a community correction order, it should include conditions to ensure that your progress and rehabilitation are adequately monitored.
8. You have very good prospects of rehabilitation, particularly if you continue to abstain from alcohol and drug use. You have employment, family support, and a limited criminal history. I accept that you are unlikely to reoffend in this way again.

1. Mr Morgan submitted that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and indicated a willingness to plead to the firearm and drug charges earlier still. He submitted that your other pleas were the product of fruitful discussions with the ageless Mr O'Doherty. I accept that you pleaded guilty at a relatively early stage. I also accept that your pleas of guilty reflect remorse and responsibility for your actions, notwithstanding that you offered to plead to sexual assault was made at the door of the court.

1. Pursuant to s5 of the Sentencing Act 1991 the purposes for which you are to be sentenced are:

(a), to punish you in a manner and to an extent which is just in all of the circumstances;

(b), to deter you or others from committing similar offences in future;

(f), a combination of two or more of these purposes.

1. All sexual offending is serious and involves a repugnant and insidiously violent invasion of the victim's body. Offending of this type must be denounced. Its impact on the victim has profoundly damaged her ability to trust and enjoy life. General and specific deterrence have key roles to play in my sentence.
2. Your brandishing of a sawn-off firearm also needs to be denounced. It was a very unsettling performance and one that, unsurprisingly, disturbed the victim. That said, you are young, and you are capable of learning and contributing to the community. I intend to sentence you so that your rehabilitation is promoted. It is in the community's best interests to reclaim and reform you so that you can contribute positively.

1. What I am proposing to do at this stage as part of your sentence is to record convictions and place you on a community corrections order for a period of 18 months from today's date. Before I ask you to consent to such an order being made, I have to tell you a little bit about the order so that you know what it means.
2. The following core conditions apply to all community correction orders:

(a), you must not commit, whether in or outside Victoria, during the period of the order, an offence punishable by imprisonment.

(b), you must report to and receive visits from the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his/her nominee during the period of the order.

(c), you must report to the Community Corrections Centre at Mildura within two clear days following your release from custody.

(d), you must notify the Secretary or his/her nominee of any change of address or employment within two clear working days after that change.

(e), you must not leave Victoria except with the permission of the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his/her nominee.

(f), you must comply with any direction given by the Secretary that is necessary for the Secretary to give to ensure you comply with the order.

1. There are a number of other conditions attached to the order which apply to you:

(a), you will need to perform 200 hours of unpaid community work over a period of 18 months, as directed by the Regional Manager. 100 hours of treatment and rehabilitation satisfactorily undertaken are to be counted as hours of unpaid community work for the purposes of the unpaid community work condition.

(b), you must be under the supervision of a Community Corrections officer for a period of 18 months.

(c), you are required to be supervised, monitored and managed as directed by the Secretary or his/her nominee.

(d), you must undergo assessment and treatment including testing for drug abuse or dependency as directed by the Regional Manager.

(e), you must undergo assessment and treatment including testing for alcohol abuse or dependency as directed by the Regional Manager.

(f), you must undergo mental health assessment and treatment including but not limited to mental health, psychological, neuropsychological and psychiatric treatment in a hospital or residential facility as directed by the Regional Manager.

(g), you must undergo programs or courses aimed at addressing factors relating to the offending as directed by the Regional Manager.

(h), you must attend for review of your progress and compliance or otherwise with conditions of the order, and you have got to come back before me on Thursday 22 January next year at 9.30 am.

1. I direct that I be advised by your Corrections officer of any non-compliance with these conditions and I will then determine if the matter should be brought back before me.
2. I should advise that if you contravene, that is if you breach that order by committing further offences, you can be charged, and a sentence of imprisonment is one of the options that can be imposed for that breach.
3. You can also be resentenced for the charges that are before me. One of the options available includes a term of imprisonment. So, for those reasons, you need to be very careful for the next 18 months. You cannot commit any further offences that might incur a term of imprisonment, otherwise you come back before this court and you will be resentenced on these charges.
4. I also advise that if you fail to comply with any direction of the Secretary to the Department of Justice, that is a Community Correct worker, as part of this order, a substantial fine can be imposed.
5. Now, do you understand all of that?
6. OFFENDER: I do, Your Honour.
7. HIS HONOUR: Very well.

1. On Charge 1, sexual assault, you are convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment followed by an 18-month community correction order.
2. On Charge 2, common assault, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.
3. On Charge 3, prohibited person possess a firearm, you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.
4. On Charge 4, possession of a drug of dependence, you are convicted and sentenced to a fine of $2,000.
5. On summary Charge 8, possession of a schedule 4 poison, you are convicted and discharged pursuant to s73 of the Sentencing Act 1991.
6. Charge 1 is the base sentence. The sentence on Charge 3 is to be served cumulatively upon the sentence on Charge 1. The sentence on Charge 2 is to be served concurrently with the sentence on Charge 1, producing a term of three months before the commencement of your community correction order.
7. I declare that you have served three months by way of pre-sentence detention.
8. There are two forfeiture orders, and one disposal order sought in this matter, and I grant those in the terms sought save in relation to the black iPhone.
9. Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act, I declare that but for your pleas of guilty I would have convicted you and sentenced you to six months' imprisonment followed by a two-year community correction order.