DPP v Landers [2025] VCC 1750

Charge 3: Threat to Kill, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment

1. Your plea was heard on 17 November 2025. The facts of your offending are set out in the Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 13 November 2025 (Exhibit A), and these were not in dispute. In brief, in about January 2023 you and the victim commenced a relationship, but you lived separately. The relationship was on and off and had broken down completely by 9 December 2023. On 10 December 2023, the victim attended at your home in Loch Sport. The victim left after a few minutes due to your demeanour. As she left your house, she tripped over an item. You left the inside of the house and approached the victim in the yard. She became afraid and tried to leave quickly via the front gate, but you reached the gate first and locked it with a padlock preventing the victim from leaving (Charge 1 - False Imprisonment).

1. You then grabbed the victim around the neck with one hand attempting to strangle her. This left marks on the victim's neck. She did not lose consciousness but said she felt something 'pop' (Charge 2 - Common Law Assault).
2. You let go of the victim and she tried to climb over the fence but there was barbed wire on the top and her hands got stuck. You pulled the victim off the fence and again grabbed her by the neck. She pretended to have a seizure and dropped to the floor to prevent you from assaulting her. You walked back and forth and then allowed the victim to leave.
3. The victim got into her car and started driving home. She said she realised you were following her when she got close to her home. She pulled over near her home and you drove really close to her and were yelling at her. The victim said to you, 'just leave me alone. I just want to go home.' She tried to drive off and you said, 'don't effin' drive off.' The victim then drove to the home of friends to seek help, and you drove away.
4. The victim went home and later that evening heard your car. She said she ran and locked the back door and saw you through the window. She heard you yelling words like 'open the back door.' She hid in her bedroom cupboard and said she could hear you in the house looking for her, but you did not find her. The victim said she heard you saying things like 'Where are you, you fuckin' bitch? You want to start shit ? I'll fuckin' kill you, you fuckin' cunt' (Charge 3 - Threat to Kill). You were in the victim's home for about two minutes and eventually left and you did a burn out in your car as you left the address.
5. The prosecution did not allege that you entered the victim's house with any specific intent, rather it is alleged you became angry whilst in the house and made the threat.

1. In an interview with police, you denied assaulting the victim at your house. You admitted attending the victim's address and entering, but stated you were worried for her welfare, and denied making threats to kill.

Personal circumstances and matters in mitigation

1. You are 47 years old. You grew up on family farms where both your parents worked, first near Bacchus Marsh and later at Murrabit near the NSW border. You attended Bacchus Marsh Primary School and then Bacchus March High School, finishing at Year 10. You did not enjoy school and had learning difficulties, although you were never formally diagnosed with such. You started work soon after leaving school and worked for about six years on the family farm doing cropping, fencing, weed spraying, welding and other general duties. At around 32 years old, you stopped working on the farm because of drought and low income and moved into earth-moving work for around eight to nine years. You now do concreting, landscaping, welding jobs as needed, and you supply firewood to older residents. You have always had steady employment in trades and agriculture.

1. You have four children from two relationships. Your eldest child is 23 years old. Your three younger children are Cooper, aged 15 years old, Lana, aged 13 years old and Archie, aged 9 years old. Sadly, about five weeks before the first hearing of this matter, the mother of your three younger children died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. Your three children are going to move in with you, once the court proceedings are over. The children and your former partner's family are supportive of this arrangement. Your father also died very recently at age 75 by suicide. This loss has had a further devastating impact on you. You are the executor and main beneficiary of the estate which includes the Murrabit farm. You intend to move your three younger children to the farm, once the estate is finalised and these proceedings have been finished. You maintain a close relationship with your mother who is very supportive of you.

1. You have been diagnosed with PTSD related to the death of your sister from cancer many years ago. You have a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, and you are arranging counselling for PTSD and anger management. You are also taking steps to join a Men's Behaviour Change Program to reduce your risk of reoffending. You obtained an Intervention Order against the victim once you learned she had returned to the area and tried to contact you through friends. You have spent 324 days in pre-sentence detention on this offending. This has had a salutary effect on you I am told.

1. You have a history of substance abuse including the use of methamphetamines until age 34 and problematic alcohol use. You told the author of the MHARS report that you have not had any substance issues since early 2023. You have a mild mental health problem at present mostly arising from bereavement issues and concern about your legal problems and what you anticipate will be a legal dispute over your father's estate. You demonstrate good insight into the benefits of engaging in mental health treatment soon.

1. You pleaded guilty to the charge at an early opportunity, being after committal and following extensive negotiations. Your plea warrants a clear reduction in sentence to reflect its utilitarian value in saving the community the time and expense of a trial, its demonstration of acceptance of responsibility, the willingness to facilitate the course of justice and remorse. The prosecution accepted and I give weight to your plea having higher than usual utilitarian value as the victim in the matter became reluctant to give evidence against you at any trial.

1. Martin Haslett, a friend who has known you for more than five years, provided a character reference for you in which he stated that he has seen you move on with your life and put this offending behind you with the support of your family and friends within the Loch Sport community. Mr Haslett noted that you indicated that you had made a mistake and you wish to get on with your life and stay away from disruptive people.

1. In sentencing you, I have had regard to the purposes for which a court may impose sentence set out in s 5 of the Sentencing Act and to the matters outlined in s 5(2), which include the maximum penalty, the nature and gravity of the offence, the offender's culpability and degree of responsibility for the offence, the impact of the offending on any victim, an offender's prior character and the presence of any aggravating or mitigating factors or other relevant circumstances.
2. I also have regard to the authorities that make it abundantly clear that general deterrence is of fundamental significance in sentencing for offending involving family violence or that occurs in the course of intimate relationships.[1] It has often been stated that the key to protecting victims is to deter the conduct '...by sending an unequivocal message to would-be perpetrators...that if they offend, they will be sentenced to a lengthy period of imprisonment so that they are no longer in a position to inflict such harm'.[2]
3. Because women who are ultimately killed by their domestic partner have often experienced repeated previous physical assaults, specific deterrence also looms large in the sentencing exercise.[3] In your case, I accept you have no prior convictions for family violence, and you have said that you are committed to dealing with your mental health issues, which marginally reduces the weight to be given to specific deterrence. It is not extinguished however given the nature of the offending.
4. Sentencing principles of denunciation, just punishment and community protection are also factors that must be prominent in the sentencing exercise.[4]
5. It is also clear that the effects of family violence are not just physical, but can include long-lasting psychological trauma, which may include serious financial stress due to the psychological effects of the violence leading to an inability to undertake employment.[5] I have taken the Victim Impact Statement into account, in which the victim documents the financial, emotional and physical effects your offending have had on her.
6. As your counsel accepted, your offending is clearly serious. The charges carry not insignificant maximum penalties of 5 and 10 years' imprisonment. The offending involved violence in the context of an interpersonal relationship. The first incident, which is Charge 2, was particularly serious as it involved strangulation, and it was committed after you tried to stop the victim leaving the premises. You did not desist at this point but followed the victim, entered her home and threatened to kill her. General deterrence, community protection and denunciation play a large role in sentencing you. You must be punished for your offending, and a sentence must be imposed that deters you personally from committing this type of offending ever again.
7. I accept however that your offending occurred in one incident, albeit it was prolonged, the offending did not involve a weapon, the physical injuries suffered by the victim were of a more minor nature and she did not lose consciousness from this strangulation episode. After your release from custody and the complainant had returned to the Loch Sport area and tried to contact you, you immediately applied for and obtained an Intervention Order against her which is relevant to your prospects of rehabilitation. On balance, I find your offending to fall above the lowest end but below the mid-range of objective seriousness for offending of this type. Your moral culpability for the offending is however high.
8. I now turn to your risk of reoffending and your prospects of rehabilitation. You have been assessed as being a medium risk of general reoffending. You have solid family connections in your Mum, Uncle, Auntie and close friends, you are responsible for three school aged children, and your employment history is strong. You intend to continue to work and provide a stable home for your children on the Murrabit farm you have inherited. You have also indicated your commitment to undertaking counselling. You have prior convictions including for violence and for breaching court orders. Your last conviction was however in 2018 and you have not committed any further offences in the two years since this offending, and you did not breach any bail conditions. On balance, I find you have good prospects of rehabilitation if you abstain from drug use and problematic levels of alcohol use and engage in mental health and drug treatment.
9. Your counsel submitted that you should not be returned to custody, having been bailed after serving 324 days, or 10 months and 20 days imprisonment. He submitted that an appropriate disposition would be for you to be sentenced to that time served in pre-sentence detention and a community-based order. He stressed the punitive effect a Community Correction Order can have and that you would also benefit from the therapeutic opportunities it would offer. You have been assessed as suitable for a Community Correction Order. The prosecution did not argue against such a disposition.
10. On balance, I agree a combination term of imprisonment with a CCO is appropriate and that the term of imprisonment will not exceed the 10 months and 20 days' imprisonment you have already served in custody. In imposing a term of imprisonment which is perhaps less than that which may ordinarily be expected, I have given weight to the fact that you have also served an additional 155 days in custody which cannot be credited to you as pre-sentence detention. Whilst I cannot give you the benefit of a declaration of all the 'dead time' you have served on a day for day basis, I do take it into account generally in fixing the term of imprisonment I impose.
11. I am satisfied that a further sentence of imprisonment is not required in your case and the time you have already served on remand for these offences, and a Community Correction Order, with appropriate conditions, is a sentencing disposition that provides a measure of general and specific deterrence and represents a balance of both punitive and therapeutic or rehabilitative sentencing objectives. I have received a Community Correction Order assessment and again, you have been found suitable to be placed on such an order.

27 Mr Landers, do you consent to the making of the Community Correction Order?

1. On Charges 1, 2 and 3, you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate of 10 months and 20 days' imprisonment.
2. I declare that pursuant to s 18E of the Sentencing Act, you have served 10 months and 20 days pre-sentence detention, excluding today.
3. On Charges 1, 2 and 3, you are also placed on a Community Correction Order for 2 years and 6 months.
4. I order that the Community Correction Order commences today, 26 November 2025 and you are to report to the Sale Community Correction Centre by 4pm on 28 November 2025.
5. The mandatory terms and standard conditions apply. In addition, I impose the following special conditions:

a) You are required to participate in programs and/or courses that address factors relating to your offending behaviour, specifically a Men's Behaviour Change Program; > > b) You are required to undergo mental health assessment and treatment; and > > c) You are required to be supervised, monitored and managed as directed by the Secretary to the Department of Justice or his or her nominee. > > d) I am also imposing a Judicial Monitoring condition. I would like to check in with you and just see how you are going in three months' time. I thought we could list it on 18 February 26 at 9.30am.

6. Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act, the sentence I would have imposed but for your plea of guilty is an aggregate of 16 months' imprisonment.

[1] Pasinis v The Queen [2014] VSCA 97, [57]; Kalala v The Queen [2017] VSCA 223; DPP v Reynolds (a pseudonym) [2022] VSCA 263.

[2] Pasinis v The Queen [2014] VSCA 97, [57].

[4] DPP v Reynolds (a pseudonym) [2022] VSCA 263, [77].

[5] Ibid, [53]-[54]; Kalala v The Queen [2017] VSCA 223.