DPP v Featherston [2025] VCC 1428

1. The first two incidents took place in a classroom at the primary school in which you worked, when you were victim's teacher. At the time, Viktor was between seven and eight years old.
2. The victim recalls from the beginning of the school year you would get him to go behind your desk and touch his penis with your hand by putting your hand down the front of his pants. You would do this when all of the kids were out of the classroom, and on occasion would do this with the other kids in the classroom. The victim recalls this occurring on average about once per week, for a period of a year or two. This information is provided by way of background only and these are uncharged acts.
3. The victim recalls a specific occasion during class where you were sitting at your desk grading student papers. The victim lined up waiting for his paper to be graded by you. You told the victim to come around to the side of the desk where you were sitting. You moved the victim between your legs and put your right arm around him to grade his paper.
4. The victim stood with his back turned to you and was looking at his paper on the desk. You used your left hand to reach around him and moved your left hand down inside the victim's pants. You used your hand inside his pants to fondle the victim's penis by way of 'playing' and 'pulling' on his penis.
5. You continued to fondle Viktor's penis in this position for 10 to 15 minutes, while continuing to grade papers and engage with other students in the classroom. This behaviour constitutes Charge 1.
6. The victim felt scared and confused. When you finished grading the student papers, he returned to his position in the classroom with the other students.
7. Later the same day, during a lunch break, you asked the victim to stay behind in the classroom. The other students left the classroom, leaving the victim alone with you. You moved the victim to the back corner of the classroom.
8. In the back corner there were three bean bags on the floor and a large yellow coloured metal bookshelf. You moved the bookshelf into a position that would obstruct the view to the door of the classroom.
9. You sat the victim down on a bean bag and positioned yourself on a bean bag next to him. You removed the victim's pants and fondled his penis by way of 'playing' and 'pulling' on his penis.
10. During this offending you would look back between a gap in the bookshelf towards the doorway to the classroom. The offending on the bean bag continued for about 20 minutes. This constitutes Charge 2.
11. After the offending, the victim went back to the playground with his friends.
12. He recalls this occurred behind the bookshelf on multiple occasions whilst you were his teacher. Again, these are uncharged acts.

1. On 29 August 1999, you picked up the victim from his mother's house. You drove a blue 1998 Hyundai Excel Coupe with a personalised number plate 'ABBA74'.
2. You drove the victim to attend an AFL match at Waverley Park. The victim recalls this as a significant event as it was the last game ever played at Waverley Park and was a match between Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans.
3. When the game finished you and the victim left in your Hyundai and returned to your address to pick up a few items before you drove the victim home.
4. During the drive back, you stopped, pulled over and parked in a carpark. You remained in the driver's seat and the victim was in the passenger seat.
5. You reached towards the victim and removed his pants. You then fondled the victim's penis by 'playing' and 'pulling' on his penis. This constitutes Charge 3.

1. On another occasion in 1999, you took the victim in the blue Hyundai to play tennis after school. The victim recalls the weather was cool and that this incident occurred during winter of 1999.
2. After playing tennis, you and the victim drove to a Shopping centre. Whilst at the shopping centre you attended Kmart and purchased a wrestling ring.
3. You and the victim returned to your car. You sat in the driver's seat and the victim in the passenger seat.
4. You then removed the victim's pants and reached over and fondled his penis by 'playing' with it. This constitutes Charge 4.
5. At one point you observed another teacher that you knew in the carpark. You sat up and immediately drove away and returned the victim home.

1. In 1999 after the victim's mother had spent time in rehabilitation, you told Mrs Ivankovic that you that you could no longer look after the victim, as the mother of another child at the primary school had been spreading rumours about you. You did not explain what the rumours were but did ask Ms Ivankovic to ask the victim whether you had done anything wrong to him. This was the last time she saw you.
2. She subsequently asked the victim whether you had done anything wrong to him, and Viktor answered, 'No'.
3. On an occasion soon after, police members attended the victim's address and spoke to the victim's mother and the victim. Police asked questions about you, including whether you had inappropriately touched Viktor.
4. You had previously told the victim, that if police ever asked him if anything happened, that he was to say 'No'. At this time the victim complied as he was scared.
5. The complainant did not tell anyone about the offending until adulthood.
6. He began a relationship with Josie Gibson[5] from about June 2020. Over the course of the relationship, the victim told Josie that you had offended against him as a child, including whilst his mother was in rehabilitation.
7. In 2023, the victim engaged with Odyssey House. Over a period of a few months he disclosed to counsellor, Angela Henderson, that you had sexually abused him
8. Following disclosure a referral was made to investigators at Westgate SOCIT.
9. The victim met with SOCIT investigators and made statements to police that disclosed the offending on 26 May 2023 and again on 6 June 2023.[6]

1. You were arrested on 17 August 2023. You were conveyed to the Bayside police station for the purposes of a record of interview. You made a no comment record of interview.[7]
2. You have no pre-sentence detention.[8]

1. You were committed to this court on 28 May 2024 following a contested committal hearing.
2. A case conference hearing took place on 2 June 2025 and you entered a plea of guilty to these charges on 10 June 2025. I note that the current resolution, which was accepted by the prosecution on 10 June 2025, was previously offered in order to resolve the matter prior to the committal on 19 January 2024 and again on

6 September 2024. It was rejected by the prosecution on the two previous offers.[9] 3. I take into account that at the committal, you were charged with different and more serious offending and that you were prepared to plead guilty to these charges at an earlier stage. 4. You have spared the victim from having to give evidence again at trial and your plea is of considerable utilitarian value, though I note that the victim did give evidence at committal, again when there were different charges before the court. 5. You have spared the community the significant expense of a trial and your plea demonstrates a willingness to facilitate the course of justice. It is also evidence of remorse. 6. I appreciate that the delay in finalising these matters would have weighed heavily upon you and during that time, you have led a law-abiding life.

1. The victim in this matter, Viktor Ivankovic, has eloquently described the devastating impact your offending has had across all aspects of his life.[10]
2. He recounts his stress as an innocent and vulnerable child, and how confused he felt at the time, given that he trusted you as his teacher. He describes the subsequent terror and mistrust towards other teachers, particularly male ones, fearing that they would put him in that situation again, stating 'any safety (he) thought (he) had at school didn't exist anymore'. This anxiety meant that he struggled to focus and engage with his teachers and eventually dropped out in Year 10.
3. He tells the court of his 'insane anxiety' at home, describing it as the 'opposite of a safe place' due to your friendship with his mother. As a young person he felt 'so angry at everyone and everything' that he left home to live on the streets, seeking out an older protector who would 'shield' him from ever being similarly assaulted again. He began self-medicating with illicit drugs to 'numb' his anxiety, depression and PTSD and ended up developing a long-term addiction.
4. Mr Ivankovic said that as a consequence of your offending, he 'to this day... struggles to feel safe, even in (his) own house'. He goes into 'defence mode' when hugged by a male friend, even where they have good intentions, due to your behaviour. He completes his impact statement by saying simply that he 'cannot express his pain in words'. It is clear that your conduct has had a devastating impact upon his life.
5. His mother, Ms Lorena Ivankovic, talks of how betrayed she feels that 'someone she trusted with (her) children could do something like this'. She says the fact that her son has 'suffered in silence' for so long is so 'unbearable' to her that she often feels that her 'chest is going to explode'. She describes how she would often go to work with no sleep due to the stress of watching her son 'spiral out of control' due to the lasting effects of your offending.[11]
6. Mr Ivankovic's partner, Ms Josie Gibson, describes being the first person to hear his disclosure and realising that her partner had 'been living with a lot of pain that he did not talk about'. She describes the difficulty of watching him struggle with his sobriety, particularly when he had to attend court in relation to this offending, because it had been so triggering for him, and the strain that this has placed on their relationship. She says she has spent sleepless nights staying up with the victim to comfort him when he is struggling with what you have done to him.[12]
7. I take into account the impact your offending has had on Viktor and the effect this has had on those who love him

1. It is noted that Mr Ivankovic was likely your first victim, with this offending taking place in 1999. You will be regarded as having no prior convictions for the purpose of today's sentence.
2. However, it is relevant that you have been charged with similar subsequent offending, which also took place against a number of young boys who were students at the same primary school around the same period that these offences took place.[13] This is relevant because it puts your offending in something of a context. It also reveals something about the state of your life at that time, which I understand is very different now.
3. In 2001, you were found guilty of five indecent assault charges and sentenced to a six month intensive corrections order. In 2007 you were found guilty at trial of six charges of indecent acts with a child under the age of 16 and you were sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of nine months.[14]
4. In 2018 you pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent act with a child under the age of 16 and were sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for two years. I have been provided with a summary of that offending.[15]

1. You were born in Burwood in 1967 to a teenaged mother and have one younger brother. You also have two much younger half-brothers. You have never met your father or his family.
2. Your mother struggled to care for you, and you were raised by your maternal grandmother, along with at least six other children at any given point, who were your grandmother's children or other cousins. Your grandmother was a devout Seventh-day Adventist.
3. You describe this upbringing as 'noisy, busy...messy and reasonably happy'.[17] You lived in social housing and your household had limited resources, but you note that you knew you were loved. You had regular contact with your mother growing up.
4. You had a normal physical development and were not subject to any abuse on mistreatment. You are close with your mother, and you were close to your grandmother before her death in 2003.
5. You attended Wattle Park Primary School and Wattle Park High School and were a relatively good student with no academic or behavioural problems. You had few friends in primary school and reported to Mr Newton that that was in part because you did not want to bring friends home due to your messy family home. In high school, you struggled socially due to your preference for stereotypically feminine interests and your increasing awareness of your homosexuality.
6. From when you first began experiencing attraction to males in your early teens, you found it confusing and upsetting. This was compounded by the fact that your grandmother was religious, and you therefore had been told that being homosexual was 'sinful and wrong'. You did not come to terms with your sexuality until you were an adult. Your first sexual experience was non-consensual and consisted of being groped on a tram as a teenager.
7. You told Mr Newton that you had only had one consensual sexual experience at the time you began offending, and that you believed you were very sexually immature. Since the early 2000s, you have found a supportive group of friends, particularly within the tennis community, and have had a number of healthy long-term relationships.
8. You have been in a relationship with your partner since 2014. You state that your relationship is strong, and that he is fully aware of your offending history.
9. You studied teaching at what is now Deakin at the Burwood Campus and then began teaching in 1991. You taught as a relief teacher for two years and then began as a class teacher. You were proud of this achievement, especially given you were the first family member to finish high school or attend university. You were no longer permitted to work as a teacher after your offending first came to light in 2001.
10. You then worked as a delivery driver for 21 years. Your employers were aware of your earlier offending, and you enjoyed the job. You were terminated from this position earlier this year after a recent change of management. Your counsel submits this is extra-curial punishment following your disclosure to the management of penetrative charges brought against you in this matter, which were ultimately not pursued by the prosecution upon resolution. I take the fact of your termination from that employment into account which is a form of extra-curial punishment.

1. While your family has had a significant history of chronic and severe depression, you report your own experience of mental health difficulties as 'relatively limited'.[18]
2. You note particular anxiety and alienation following the AIDS crisis in the mid to late 1980s, which left you 'terrified'.[19]
3. You underwent intermittent counselling with Mr Robert White between the early 2000s and late 2024, which focused mainly on stress management and providing you support in the context of your repeated legal situations.[20]
4. You have undertaken additional sexual offending specific counselling, both group based and individual sexual offender treatment, with Dr Mathew Barth from October 2017 to April 2018, which was linked to your earlier offending.[21]
5. You have never been prescribed medication for mental health issues, and you are not currently receiving mental health care.
6. You have no alcohol or substance abuse issues.
7. Mr Newton says that you acknowledge that you derived sexual gratification from the offending, and you knew at the time that what you were doing was wrong. In your assessment with Mr Newton, you expressed your 'shame, guilt and embarrassment' for your behaviour and after sex offender treatment you now realise the 'significant impacts (your behaviour) might have on a child'.[22]
8. You told Mr Newton that at the time you deluded yourself into thinking that what you were doing was not harmful to the victim. You told Mr Newton treatment has 'opened your eyes to the life-long impacts' that your victims have faced due to your offending, and state that 'the regret and remorse lives with (you) every day'.[23]
9. Mr Newton states that whilst you certainly would have met the criteria for a paedophilic disorder at the time of the offending, due to your admitted sexual gratification experienced in the indecent contact with your victims, you are now able to articulate the harm caused to young people by sexual offending and the abuse of power that enabled your interactions with your victim.[24]
10. Therefore, he now opines that you no longer suffer from a paedophilic disorder, given that there is no evidence of sexual misconduct following the string of offending which took place around 25 years ago and an absence of any recent inappropriate behaviour or fantasy. He deems you a low risk of reoffending.[25]
11. Your counsel submits that limb 5 of Verdins has application here to a moderate extent.[26] The prosecution submits that this does not have application here.[27]
12. Mr Newton, in his psychological report of you dated 5 September 2025, states that you are not suffering from any mental health issues at present. Your mild symptoms of anxiety are within normal limits and do not cause any significant impairment.[28]
13. However, he later states that you would find a return to custody 'upsetting and confronting' and given your sexuality and the nature of your offending you would have a 'somewhat more burdensome experience of incarceration than is typical'.[29] I accept that this is the case and that your custodial experience, if there were to be one, would weigh heavily upon you, but I give this moderate weight.
14. I note that you have previously undergone, as I said, extensive sex offender therapy both through a mandated course and with Dr Mathew Barth.[30] You are said to have made very good progress with respect to displaying insight into your offending, demonstrating genuine victim empathy and developing plans to reduce a risk of recidivism. You are described as having a strong commitment to treatment and general empathetic stance towards others. You are considered a low risk of reoffending.

1. You have prepared a letter to the court in which you acknowledge the effect of your offending on the victim.[31] You have expressed that this will bring you great shame and remorse for the rest of your life. You accept full responsibility for your crimes and it provides some insight into your life as a child. In essence, you describe that the man you are today is completely unrecognisable from who you were at the time of the offending. You have clearly taken a great many steps to rehabilitate yourself and this bodes extremely well for your prospects of rehabilitation, which I consider to be strong. You have a lot of support both from your partner and your strong friendship circle.
2. I have received character references from your partner, mother and a number of friends.[32] You are described as a caring and honest man. You reportedly have been dedicated to helping care for your mother who suffers rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, angina and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She is increasingly reliant on you to assist with her care. Both she and your friend Ken Sampson describe your generosity and loyalty. I take into account the character references provided in this case.
3. I also take into account the medical material provided with respect to your mother's frail health.[33] The impact of you spending time in custody would indeed be difficult for her. I appreciate that your concern for your mother's welfare would also make any time in custody more burdensome for you.

1. Sexual offending against children is serious. The law recognises that children will be harmed by indecent acts of this nature, and they therefore must be protected from premature sexual experiences such as these. Your counsel has appropriately conceded that these are serious offences and serious examples of those offences.[34]
2. In this case, you were a trusted teacher and friend. You were the victim's schoolteacher, and you had been entrusted to care for him on outings whilst his mother was unwell. Your offending is a significant breach of the trust reposed in you. The victim was particularly vulnerable due to his mother's poor health and the time that she spent in rehabilitation, which was something of which you were well aware. The complainant was very young, being 7 and 8 years old, and you were 23 years his senior. The offending is made worse by the fact that you told the victim not to tell anybody and if asked by police or anyone if he had been offended against, to say no.
3. Furthermore, the offending continued over a period of approximately nine months. The Court of Appeal in DPP v Polat (a pseudonym)[35] emphasised that where there is repeated offending against the same victim over a lengthy period of time, whether this is characterised as persistent or recurrent offending, the later offences can be viewed as becoming progressively more serious.
4. Whilst there are uncharged acts set out in the prosecution opening, you do not fall to be sentenced for that conduct. However, it cannot be said that the offending was isolated.
5. As your counsel points out, Charges 1 and 2 occurred on the same day. Your offending against Viktor on Charge 1 was brazen, occurring within the classroom and lasting 10 to 15 minutes. Charge 2 involved you isolating the victim, removing his pants and the offending on that occasion lasted 20 minutes.
6. Charges 3 and 4 occurred at a time when you had taken the victim out for an event, and you were entrusted with his care. It is unclear how long each of the offending took place for on those occasions.

1. You have pleaded guilty to four charges. Each offence to which you have pleaded guilty warrants individual punishment given that it involves distinct and serious conduct. However, there should be a degree of concurrency appropriate to satisfy the principle of totality. I must ensure that the totality of the sentences imposed is met with a just and proportionate sentence. Therefore, there is a need for moderation both as to the length of any individual sentences and periods of cumulation.
2. Your counsel submits that had this offending been considered at a much earlier stage closer to your sentences for other offending, then totality would have loomed large.[36] It is submitted that it is unlikely you would have been sentenced to further time in custody. The prosecution submits this is entirely speculative and I agree.[37] However, I do take into account that had you been sentenced at the same time, totality would have been a relevant matter for consideration.
3. I take into account sentencing practices for similar offending. No two cases are alike, however.
4. In accordance with the principles in Stalio v The Queen[38] I have had regard to sentencing practices at the time of the offending for the purpose of ascertaining just punishment in accordance with the principle of equal justice.

1. There are a number of basic purposes for which a court may impose a sentence, namely just punishment, both specific and general deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection of the community. In determining an appropriate sentence, I am required to take into account these objectives as well as various other matters including the gravity of the offending, your culpability, the impact on the victim and your personal circumstances as well as the maximum penalty.
2. The sentence I pass must balance the interests of the community in denouncing criminal conduct with the community's interests in ensuring that as far as possible you are rehabilitated. I am to have regard to the principles of parsimony, and I do so.

1. General deterrence is an important sentencing consideration. Other members of the community must understand that sexual offending against children will attract significant punishment, particularly where it occurs where there has been a significant breach of trust. Given your subsequent convictions for similar offending, specific deterrence also has relevance. Just punishment and denunciation must be given primary consideration in my instinctive synthesis.

1. Indecent act with a child under 16 is a sexual offence, as listed in Schedule 1 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic). You have previously been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for more than two relevant offences. Therefore, if you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment on any of the charges, you fall to be sentenced as a serious sexual offender.[39]
2. This enlivens ss6D, 6E and 6F of the Sentencing Act.[40] In sentencing you on the charges on the indictment, the court must regard the protection of the community as the principal purpose of sentencing. To achieve that purpose, the court may impose a longer sentence than that which is proportionate to the gravity of the offences considered in the light of their objective circumstances. Pursuant to s6E of the Act, there is a presumption of cumulation of terms of imprisonment imposed for relevant offences unless otherwise directed.
3. The Crown is not seeking a disproportionate sentence in this matter.[41]

1. In relation to the Sex Offender Registration provisions, I note that the offence of indecent act with a child is a Schedule 2 offence under the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic). Registration is mandatory. You will be required to comply with the obligations imposed by the Act for the rest of your life.[42] You must comply with your reporting and other obligations, as I have said, for the period of your life.
2. I must advise you as to the nature of these obligations under the Sex Offenders Registration Act[43] and this will be provided to you by way of a notification of those reporting obligations.
3. Your counsel submits that this is an unusual case, in that you do not require further sex offender treatment and that relevant sentencing principles can be addressed through the imposition of a term of imprisonment that is wholly suspended.
4. The prosecution submits that your offending warrants a head sentence with a non-parole period having regard to the gravity of offending and the significance of denunciation, general deterrence and just punishment.

1. The starting point is that the law says that a court must always regard imprisonment as a sentence of last resort. Whilst suspended sentences are no longer available as a sentencing disposition, because your offending occurred at a time while they were still in operation, it is open to the court to impose a sentence that is either wholly or partially suspended where the sentence to be imposed is less than a certain period of time.
2. I have given careful consideration to all matters raised, including the gravity of the offending, that this was your first offending, your plea of guilty, your evident remorse, your good prospects of rehabilitation including your extensive supports. I have considered whether a suspended sentence is open and indeed whether a wholly suspended sentence would be within range. Ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that whilst it is open to the court to impose a suspended sentence, that there must be a period to be served in custody, having regard to the gravity of the offending and in particular the gross breach of trust placed in you as a parent by the complainant's mother and as a teacher. This is necessary to achieve the relevant applicable sentencing principles, albeit that I accept that rehabilitation plays less of a role.

1. On Charge 1, you are convicted and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.
2. On Charge 2, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
3. On Charge 3, you are convicted and sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment
4. On Charge 4, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.

1. I order that Charge 3 is the base sentence.
2. I order that three months of the sentence imposed on Charge 1 be served cumulatively with the sentence imposed on Charge 3 and other sentences imposed this day.
3. I order that five months of the sentence imposed on Charge 2 be served cumulatively with the sentence imposed on Charge 3 and other sentences imposed this day.
4. I order that six months of the sentence imposed on Charge 4 be served cumulatively with the sentence imposed on Charge 3 and other sentences imposed this day.
5. This makes a total effective sentence of 28 months' imprisonment. I order that you serve 10 months of this sentence immediately. The remainder will be wholly suspended for a period of two years.
6. Because you have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, I direct that it be noted into the records that you have been sentenced as a serious sexual offender on each charge

1. Pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act, I note that but for your plea of guilty, I indicate that I would have imposed a head sentence of three years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 20 months.

[1] Amended Summary of Prosecution Opening on Plea dated 9 September 2025 and Prosecution Submissions dated 30 May 2025 ('Exhibit A').

[9] Defence Plea Submissions dated 10 September 2025 ('Exhibit 1').

[10] Victim Impact Statement of Viktor Ivankovic dated 6 September 2025 ('Exhibit B').

[11] Victim Impact Statement of Lorena Ivankovic dated 9 September 2025 ('Exhibit D').

[12] Victim Impact Statement of Josie Gibson dated 6 September 2025 ('Exhibit C').

[13] Summary of Previous Charges dated 29 September 2025 ('Exhibit E').

[16] Psychological Report by Patrick Newton dated 5 September 2025 ('Exhibit 2').

[30] Report from Dr Mathew Bath dated 1 May 2018 ('Exhibit 3').

[31] Letter to Court by Shane Featherston dated 10 August 2025 ('Exhibit 5').

[32] Bundle of Character References - letter from Chia Wei Lin (11 August 2025), Ken Sampson (28 July 2025), Robert White (25 July 2025) and Sue Stevens (3 August 2025) ('Exhibit 6').

[33] Medical Documents relating to Suzanne Stevens authored by Dr Samantha Ware dated 29 July 2025 ('Exhibit 7').

[35] [2020] VSCA 174.

[38] [2012] VSCA 120.

[39] Sentencing Act 1991 s.6B(2)(a)

[42] Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic) s 34(1)(c)(i).