DPP v Poulier [2025] VCC 892

1. You did a record of interview when you attended at the Moorabbin Police Station. You made a 'no comment' record of interview however you stated that:

(a) 'I wanted to make a complaint about the doorbell camera because it's - it's always in my face' and

(b) "Whenever I'm at my door and I'm talking to my neighbour or something he'll turn it on and the blue little thing - just to show that he's watching me all the time."

1. Following the interview, you were released pending a charge. You were subsequently charged 5 months later on 23 November 2023.

1. A victim impact statement was tendered. The victim described that he feels as though he is trapped in his own home. He fears doing small things like collecting a delivery from the front door, he is worried about confrontation and abuse. He said that the assault has made him paranoid. He feels more withdrawn from leaving home and going out and fears that his house will be broken into. He has an Intervention Order, but this was not in place at the time of the offending. He had started drinking to deal with his anxiety and to help him to relax from the stress that he is under. The victim said that it was the first home that he lived in after being homeless for six years. He no longer feels safe there. He had bruising and abrasions from being struck with the golf club and had to replace his doorbell camera which cost him approximately $180. He also got a massage gun to help him soothe his injuries which cost him $50.
2. I take into account the impact that your offending has had on the victim in sentencing you.

1. Aggravated burglary is an inherently serious offence as much is indicated given it is punishable by a maximum of 25 years imprisonment. Your offending is aggravated by various factors and can be categorised as a confrontational aggravated burglary.
2. The victim had been your neighbour for some time. There was a history of animosity between you. You believe that he had poisoned and killed a dog and felt that the welfare of your new puppy was threatened by what he had been doing. You had reached boiling point and had also taken drugs on this day. You were overwhelmed by your feelings.
3. You armed yourself with a golf club and entered through an unlocked door. This would have been terrifying for your victim. The smashing of the window and camera would have added to the victim's fear. Even though it was 9.30am you knew he was home and what you did was brazen in the context of ongoing animosity.
4. While you and the victim remain living at the same premises you have an Intervention Order against him and have applied for a transfer in accommodation.
5. Confrontational aggravated burglaries are more serious. However, in your case, there were no co-offenders. Your offending on this occasion was reactive. It was not planned, it was not sophisticated, and it was not pre-meditated. In your mind. you had a genuine grievance. The assault was not protracted although it would have been very painful and frightening for your victim. You have not been charged with "an injury" offence although I note that your victim required a massage gun to soothe his injuries. The damage you caused to the window was low level it cost $126 to repair in addition the victim's camera was taken.
6. I understand the context in which your offending occurred, however, I do consider it to be a serious example of this type of offending. You perceived the victim had made a threat to your dogs which have been a huge source of emotional support to you. Your offending occurred at a time when you were affected by illicit substances and your mental health was compromised. Additionally, you had not taken your prescription medication. All of these factors combined to overwhelm you and you acted in the manner described.

1. You are now 57 years old. You were born November 1968 in East Melbourne and have an older brother.
2. Your childhood was unstable, marked by parental conflict and exposure to substance abuse by your parents. Your parents separated when you were seven years old and you began residing with your mother and grandparents following your parents' separation. You maintained a very close relationship with your maternal grandparents, and you were significantly impacted by their deaths.
3. Following the separation of your parents, your father struggled with alcoholism, which ultimately claimed his life when you were 23 years old. You had a very close relationship with your father during your formative years and you began living with your father when you were 18 years old. When you were 22, your father lost his residence because of a combination of job loss, alcohol abuse and gambling. He moved into a hotel and his health subsequently declined, and eventually he stopped eating. Eventually, he became unreachable, and he passed away soon after.
4. Your relationship with your mother has historically been volatile in nature. You frequently experienced forms of emotional abuse at the hands of your mother, which has contributed to a highly dysfunctional relationship. The breakdown of the relationship with your mother has caused you great distress.
5. Nonetheless, you do have a deep affection for your mother, who is currently in ill-health, and you are determined to repair your relationship.
6. You had a generally positive experience at primary school and had no difficulties engaging in education tasks. You began skipping school as you preferred to spend time with your peers. At the age of 14, you were expelled from your secondary school as you were caught drinking sherry at a school event. You enrolled at another secondary school but withdrew soon after. Drinking alcohol from the age of 14 did not seem problematic to you, due to your father's daily alcohol consumption. Drinking was very much normalised within your environment.
7. After leaving school, you commenced employment at a dry-cleaning company, where you worked for about one year. You had subsequently held various positions, including roles as a kitchen hand, at a lamp and shade manufacturing company and in car detailing and motor vehicle work. You spent a considerable time working as a musician busking in public for monetary donations. More recently you have gained some stable employment.
8. At about the age of 17 you entered your first serious relationship which lasted, on and off, for 10 years. The relationship unfortunately became marked by toxicity and you were subjected to manipulative behaviours and introduced to illicit substance use from a young age.
9. During your late adolescence and early adulthood, you experimented with various substances. Following the death of your father, you commenced using heroin daily. You used heroin to avoid sitting with difficult emotions and as a coping mechanism for grief. You attempted to cease use at various times but inevitably you relapsed. At the age of 20, you commenced a methadone program in an attempt to discontinue heroin use. However, you continued using heroin approximately three times weekly.
10. You were heavily involved in the care of two of your former partners' children for a number of years. However, consequential to the breakdowns of those relationships and a violent assault against you by an associate of one of your former partners, you no longer have contact with either child. You experience daily distress over this, and you currently have a supportive partner, Lisa, with whom you reside and you share, a dog.
11. You have one older brother, with whom you do not have frequent contact, however, you have a first cousin, Tanya, with whom you do maintain regular contact and who is a great support to you.

1. At your Plea on 11 September 2024, your counsel tendered a psychological report from Jane Bidjossian dated 22 August 2024.
2. In that report, Ms Bidjossian indicated that your life was marked by unfavourable relationship and profound losses, including the death of your father and your grandmother.
3. These losses have had a substantial impact on your emotional well-being and stability and your ongoing difficulties in forming and maintaining stable relationships and have compounded mental health conditions and perpetrated psychological distress.
4. Ms Bidjossian indicated that your early exposure to substance abuse became a maladaptive coping strategy and predisposed you to develop an Opioid Use Disorder and you had struggled with that use disorder chronically for over 22 years. Your mental health has further compounded those difficulties. These conditions have impaired your ability to regulate emotions, maintain stable interpersonal relationships, and have led to heightened psychological distress.
5. Despite adherence to a prescribed regimen of daily antidepressants and methadone administration, you had continued to use of heroin leading into the offending. Ms Bidjossian has diagnosed you with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and also symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She says that your mental health has been inadequately managed over the years and is likely to have contributed to your impaired emotional regulation and overall functioning. Ms Bidjossian also noted that you have been diagnosed with a Borderline Personality Disorder. She opines that an untreated borderline personality disorder can lead to estrangement from family members, unstable interpersonal relationships and frequent legal and financial difficulties.
6. Further, Ms Bidjossian opined that you have endured various physical assaults which have likely contributed to symptoms of PTSD and traumatic experiences which can exacerbate emotional dysregulation and contribute to heightened emotional instability. The persistent psychological distress and inadequate treatment of your mental health issues may have compromised your ability to manage stress effectively, leading to behaviours that contributed to your offending.
7. The combination of PTSD symptoms, such as heightened arousal and intrusive memories, with the emotional instability characteristics of Borderline Personality Disorder, may have intensified your difficulties in managing emotions and maintaining stable relationships. This increased emotional volatility, including episodes of aggression, is consistent with both PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder and these factors together likely contributed to your impaired functioning and problematic behaviours.
8. The submissions that your mental health played a role in the lead up to and engagement in the offending are accepted, although as conceded by your counsel, your illicit substance use also played a role in your offending and as such any reduction in moral culpability or weight to be placed on general deterrence must be moderated accordingly.
9. In the lead up to your plea hearing in September 2024, Ms Poulier, you completed a number of programs. The most significant of these in terms of addressing your offending behaviour was the 'Futures Free From Violence' eight-week program through Drummond Street Services. You also received support from Drummond Street Services following the completion of the eight-week program up until 12 June 2024. The program placed emphasis on exploring use of family violence and strengthening strategies to build safer relationships and support emotional regulation. You had also been very heavily involved with Windana and had been receiving treatment through that organisation, particularly on an outpatient basis.

1. You were released on a deferral of sentence on 17 September of 2024. At that time, you were completing a Community Correction Order. You had been compliant with this order but realised you needed further support and entered into a Community Residential Withdrawal Unit on 10 December 2024. You remained there until 16 December 2024.
2. You then went into residential rehabilitation at the Westside Lodge for 13 weeks from 18 December 2024 through until 19 March 2025.You described Westside as being a life-changing experience and you have since then have participated in a Peer Support group and Smart Goals group through Windana. You have participated in these programs for approximately five weeks following the completion of residential rehabilitation. In addition, you have ongoing engagement with First Step.
3. You have continued with pharmacological treatment (currently prescribed Sublocade, 300 milligram per month) and you are currently abstinent from illicit substances.
4. I take into account that you have pleaded guilty. You pleaded guilty at a relatively early stage. This shows that you have accepted responsibility for your behaviour on this occasion. It also means that the victim did not have to be cross-examined or have to worry about court proceedings which would have no doubt been traumatic for him and which would have extended his suffering. Your plea has also spared the court the time and expense to a trial. I consider your plea to be of high utilitarian value and also a demonstration that you have facilitated the course of justice. In the circumstances and I give you a significant discount, for your plea of guilty.
5. I accept, given the opinions of Ms Bidjossian, that imprisonment would be very difficult for you. This is given the difficulties that you have got face, particularly with your mental health. Due to this I place some weight on Verdins limb 5.[1] I accept the evidence of Ms Bidjossian that were you to be imprisoned, imprisonment would be very difficult for you because at, the time that she assessed you, your mental health was not good and it would likely be aggravated by being in custody.
6. Importantly, I have had regard to the principles enunciated in the case of Akoka .[2]
7. I recognise that residential rehabilitation is somewhat punitive. You did not have the freedoms that you would have had you been in the community. Further, I consider that residential rehabilitation is to be encouraged, not only for you but for others. Akoka time is not a formula where you are granted pre-sentence detention for each day you have participated in inpatient rehabilitation, but it is taken into account that you have given up your freedom for a period of time and in addition you have commenced your path of reform
8. The benefits of your inpatient experience have been extensive both to you and to the community. Your rehabilitation is significant in the context of your considerable prior history, drug addiction and poor mental health. You have now become a contributing member of the community and are no longer offending. Rehabilitation means you are not offending and are becoming a contributing member to the community. In my view, protection of the community is better served by fostering and building on the reform you have commenced.

1. The relevant sentencing principles to be applied in your case are general and specific deterrence. Your offending was serious and is denounced in the strongest of terms. You cannot conduct yourself in that way. You have completed significant programs which have provided you a whole range of strategies and I am confident that you will not engage in that sort of behaviour again in the future.
2. In this instance, as I have said community protection is best achieved by not interrupting the extensive progress you have made towards rehabilitation. The principles of proportionality, parsimony and totality are very important and they require me to make sure that the sentence that I give you reflects the total criminality that is involved and that the punishment imposed fits the crime and I do no more than is necessary to punish you for the offending.
3. I have taken into account the sentencing guidelines referred to in s5 of the

Sentencing Act[3] where they are relevant to your case. I have also taken into account, as far as possible, the current sentencing practices for the offence, particularly the offence of aggravated burglary. I have had regard to recent cases, to the comparative cases that have been provided by the prosecution. 4. What is apparent from the cases is that usually sentences of imprisonment are imposed for cases involving aggravated burglary, however not in every instance. They are instructive in terms of the principles that are enunciated, however, every case turns on its' own facts and I intend to impose a sentence that is just and appropriate in the circumstances of your particular case. 5. As I have indicated, I am not going to send you to gaol, but I am going to impose a community correction order. I have had regard to the case of Boulton[4] and in particular the general principles set out as follows.

Firstly, a CCO is a new and flexible sentencing option, well it was at the time, which can be for a term of up to the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence in question. It serves a different purpose from community-based orders or suspended sentences, which have now been abolished.

In some cases, it will be appropriate to impose a CCO, with or without an added sentence of imprisonment, for relatively serious offences, which would previously have attracted quite substantial terms of imprisonment. In determining whether to sentence an offender to a CCO, the court should first assess the objective nature and gravity of the offence, and the moral culpability of the offender.

The court should then consider whether, the crime as so assessed, is so serious that nothing short of a sentence, wholly comprised of immediate term of imprisonment will suffice to satisfy the requirements of just punishment. Or, a CCO, either alone or in conjunction with a sentence of imprisonment, would satisfy the requirements of just punishment.

1. Under the heading of 'Just punishment', in part 2, where the question is stated 'imprisonment or CCO?' The Court of Appeal said,

'axiomatically, nothing is as punitive as prison.' At the same time, the opportunities for rehabilitation in prison are severely limited and imprisonment can be seriously detrimental for the offender.

In practice therefore, a conclusion that imprisonment is the only

appropriate punishment is a conclusion that the retributive and deterrent purposes of punishment must take precedence. A CCO is also intrinsically punitive and depending on the length of the order, and the nature and extent of the conditions imposed, is capable of being highly punitive. Mandatory conditions attached to each CCO by force of s45(1)[5], affect an offender's liberty and autonomy. During the period of the order, the offender must report to and receive visits from the Secretary, must notify the Secretary of any change of address or employment, must not leave Victoria without the Secretary's permission, and must comply with any direction given by the Secretary to ensure compliance.

The conditions which maybe attached to a CCO, are variously coercive, restrictive and/or prohibitive. When a condition of that kind is attached to a CCO, the offender's life will be regulated for the duration of the order. By the obligation to comply with the conditions subject to any contrary order, contravention of any condition attached to a CCO, except for a contravention of a direction by the Secretary, is itself an offence, punishable by three months imprisonment. Contravention of a CCO, also carries with it, the prospect that the offender will be resentenced on the original offence.

In terms of general deterrence, as until now a sentence of imprisonment has been conceived of as providing the greatest degree of general deterrence. A CCO can however, provide substantial general deterrence on account of the punitive effect described above. If a CCO is to operate as an effective general deterrent, it is essential that the sentencing court sufficiently explain its reasons for concluding that the CCO will be sufficient punishment of the offender for the offence.

A sentence of imprisonment may operate as a specific deterrent, but a CCO can also provide very substantial specific deterrence. First, it will be a real punishment and therefore should deter repeat offending. Secondly, there is also the mandatory condition attached to every CCO prohibiting the commission of an offence, punishable by imprisonment. The commission of such a breach in offence will potentially lead to the imposition of three separate penalties as follows. A penalty for the offence itself, a penalty for the contravention of the CCO condition, and a resentencing for the original offence, in respect of which the CCO was first imposed.

Thirdly, the focus of conditions attached to the CCO will be to minimise the risk of reoffending, by ensuring appropriate treatment to address the causes of offending and/or by prohibiting the offender from visiting places, or associating with persons which might lead to criminal activity. In that way a CCO can serve the purpose of protecting the community, which is the object of specific deterrence.

A CCO demands of the offender that he take personal responsibility for

self-management and self-control and depending on the conditions, that he pursue treatment and rehabilitation, refrain from undesirable activities and associations, and avoid undesirable persons and places.

In many cases, therefore, a CCO will enable all the purposes of punishment to be served simultaneously in a coherent and balanced way. Even in cases of relatively serious offences, which would previously have attracted a medium term of imprisonment, such as for example, aggravated burglary, intentionally cause serious injury, some forms of sexual offences involving minors, some kinds of rape, and in some rare and exceptional circumstances, homicide.

The sentencing court may find that a properly conditioned CCO of lengthy duration is capable of satisfying the requirements of proportionality, parsimony and just punishment, whilst affording the best prospects for rehabilitation.

1. Having balanced all of the factors in your case, including the seriousness of the offence, the impact that your offending has had on the victim while also giving proper regard to all of the advances that you have made towards your rehabilitation on deferral, the Akoka time and the pre-sentence assessment that has been undertaken, I intend to impose a Community Correction Order.
2. In relation to the charges of aggravated burglary, theft, criminal damage and the aggravated assault, Ms Poulier, you are convicted of those offences and you are placed on a Community Correction Order for a period of 18 months.
3. Now the conditions of this order include supervision, assessment and treatment for alcohol and drug use, assessment and treatment for mental health and assessment and treatment for programs to reduce reoffending. The order also includes a Judicial Monitoring condition to ensure your progress on the order is monitored.
4. There are standard conditions. First and foremost, you must not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment over the next 18 months. If you do commit an offence punishable by imprisonment over the next 18 months, this will be in breach of the order and you will need to attend Court. Potentially, you could be resentenced and most likely that would involve imprisonment.
5. You need to report to Moorabbin Community Corrections Centre in Highett within two working days.
6. You are required to advise your supervising Corrections office of any change of address where you are living or working, within two clear working days, and it is a term of all community corrections orders that you submit to visits as directed, that you obey the instructions and directions of the community correction, and that you cannot leave the State of Victoria without prior permission.
7. So I can only put you on a community correction order if you agree, so do you understand what is involved?
8. OFFENDER: Yes.
9. HER HONOUR: Yes. And do you agree to doing such an order.
10. OFFENDER: Yes.
11. Now the judicial monitoring, I am going to do at 9.30am on 28 October and I will actually be in Horsham on circuit, so we will have to do that online, okay, so I will see you then.
12. MS OLIVER: Your Honour, there is the forfeiture for the golf club and the Compensation order for the broken window. Hopefully, Your Honour has those, or I can resend those to Your Honour's chambers.
13. HER HONOUR: I will have those, and I will make both of those orders. The compensation will be meaningful now that you are working, you will be able to put aside a little bit of money each week and I will order that compensation be made. The golf club will be forfeited I will make those orders.

[1] R v Verdins [2007] VSCA 102.

[2] Akoka v The Queen [2017] VSCA 217.

[3] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s5.

[4] Boulton v The Queen [2014] VSCA 42.

[5] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s45(1).