DPP v Swanson [2025] VCC 763

1. There were also five related summary offences to which, having accepted the jurisdiction of this court, you pleaded guilty.[6] They are:

(a) One charge of contravening a condition of bail, which carries a maximum penalty of 3 months' imprisonment;[7]

(b) One charge of resisting an emergency worker on duty, which carries a maximum penalty of 6 months' imprisonment;[8]

(c) One charge of acting in a manner prejudicial to the good order of a police gaol, which carries a maximum penalty of a fine of 10 penalty units;[9]

(d) One charge of unlawful assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 3 months' imprisonment;[10] and

(e) One charge of enter private place without excuse, which carries a maximum penalty of 6 months' imprisonment.[11]

1. The bulk of your offending relates to family violence committed against your ex-partner, Ms Ellen Culver[12] and her 13 year old daughter, Ms Connie Leday.[13]
2. On 13 July 2023 a family violence intervention order was made by the Dandenong Magistrates Court which expires on 31 December 2060. The order provided that you were not to commit family violence against Ms Culver or Connie. This included a condition of you not going within 200 meters of them.

1. On 8 December 2023 at 6:30 pm, Ms Culver was sitting her car in Bendigo when you leaned through the car window and punched her twice around the head and body, leaving some bruising.
2. Bystanders witnessed the incident and called police. Ms Culver declined to make a statement. (Charge 1: Contravene Family Violence Intervention Order with the intent to cause physical or mental harm; Summary Offence 18 - Unlawful Assault).
3. At the time of this offending you were on bail.

1. On 20 February 2024 at 5pm, Ms Culver and Connie were in the car outside the house of a friend of Ms Culver's - Ms Angela London.[14] You were sending Ms Culver a number of abusive text messages demanding that she return home. She told you that she wasn't going to return home due to your mood. You proceeded to send further abusive and threatening messages to Ms Culver, Ms London and Connie.
2. You then went to Ms London's house and smashed the windows on Ms Culver's car with your fists.
3. You subsequently walked to the front door and began yelling and screaming at Ms Culver to come outside. She told you multiple times to leave the address. You then proceeded to smash a window beside the front door before leaving (Charge 7 - Criminal Damage).
4. You then sent messages to Ms London stating:

'Very silly mistake. Text me if I can be fucked in about 10 minutes. I'm going to walk over there and break everything'.

'Can't say I didn't warn you' and 'test me again you fucking rat m out of this shit town you and your fucking shit he fucking daughter and son and the rest of you imbecile deserve everything you get fuck off and die you lowlife' (sic.)

1. The following message was sent to Ms London and Connie (Charge 5 - Threat to Inflict Serious Injury):

'PS if I see the police turn up to our house from where I'm currently sitting with my point of view Italy, very fucking badly for everybody.' (sic.)

'Well that's kind of bad luck that piece of shit misses of mine doesn't put the key in the letterbox before midnight I'll come looking for it it's very simple you wanna harbour fucking imbeciles'

'Stiff shit, they know that I don't say things for no reason but if people want to test that I say things for no reason I'm more than happy to prove a point and yet very sorry that it's your address that these idiots are testing me with.'

'They say the place can get here before 11.45 when I ran through the Subaru and into your fucking lounge room because you're protecting a fucking weak dog'

(Charges 2 and 3: Contravene Family Violence Intervention Order to cause physical or mental harm to Culver and Contravene Family Violence Intervention Order to cause apprehension or fear to Leday).

1. A total of 22 texts messages were sent to Connie (Charge 5: Threat to inflict serious injury) which included:

'To be very clear if you or your mum step your foot inside this house before I decide what time on Friday, I will smash your fucking jaw off your face and continually possum stop it until it is nothing other than a puzzle for the elite surgeon to try to understand.' (sic.)

1. I have taken the expression 'possum stop' in this message to be a mis-spelling of 'possum stomp'. A 'possum stomp' is a colloquial reference to killing a possum by stomping on it.
2. At approximately 11:40 pm that evening you returned to the address in a calm manner, approaching the front door and requesting your house keys. Ms Culver came to the front door with Ms London and opened the front door to hand you the keys. You then stepped inside the house before grabbing Ms Culver's hair and dragging her outside (Summary Charge 21 - Unlawfully on the Premises).
3. You dragged Ms Culver across the front yard, punching and kicking her as you went. She knocked her head on a brick garden bed whilst being dragged (Charge 4 - Intentionally Causing Injury).
4. You opened the boot of your vehicle and threw Ms Culver inside. You attempted to close the boot but Ms Culver bravely used her feet to stop it from shutting. Ms Culver kept trying to stop you but you were pushing her away.
5. You were unable to close the boot, so you dragged Ms Culver out of the vehicle, pushed her to the ground and commenced kicking and punching her repeatedly (Charge 6 - Conduct Endangering Persons).
6. Ms Culver sustained several cuts and bruises in the attack however did not sustain serious injuries.

1. Police located you at 12:50 AM at the home of Ms Culver where you were taken to Bendigo Police Station. You were belligerent and violent. Police Custody Officer Scott Lewis attempted to search you but you became more aggressive with staff and had to be subdued using OC Spray (Summary Offence 9 - Resist Emergency Worker on Duty; Summary Offence 10 - Acting in a manner Prejudicial to the Good Order of a Goal).
2. You were interviewed on 21 February 2024, and made limited admissions.

(a) You were aware of a limited intervention order between yourself and Ms Culver.

(b) You were aware of a full condition intervention order between yourself and Connie.

(c) You were aware you were on bail, which included a condition not to attend Korong Vale. You recalled the incident however denied assaulting Ms Culver.

1. Although no victim impact statements have been filed I have no doubt that your offending must have been terrifying for both of your primary victims - Ms Culver and Connie.
2. Starting with the December 2023 offending, it is concerning that your assault of your former partner Ms Culver occurred while she was meant to be protected by a family violence intervention order against you issued by the Dandenong Magistrates' Court 5 months earlier. You were on bail and the subject of a community correction order at the time.
3. Your offending on 20 February 2024 was far worse. Your former partner and her young daughter were visiting Ms Culver's friend Ms London. After damaging both your own property and Ms London's home, you sent threatening messages including to 13 year old Connie. The worst of these was the message described at [14] and [15] above that you sent to Connie. This was a particularly egregious instance of the offence of threatening to inflict serious injury coming as it did after your earlier violent conduct. This is at least a mid-level example of the s 21 offence.
4. The later offending against Ms Culver is also concerning as it involved the intentional infliction of injuries and the terrifying prospect of being locked in the boot of your car. I will treat the conduct described earlier at [17]-[20] as one continuing period of offending and will impose an aggregate term of imprisonment in relation to it.[15]
5. The offending against the police officer was a further demonstration of the contempt you apparently have for the law. Police Custody Officer Lewis was only doing his job.

1. You are currently 43 years old. You had a loving and supportive family growing up. Your parents separated when you were 18 months' old after which you lived with your mother and had fortnightly contact with your father.
2. You were educated until Year 10 at Frankston High School. You then completed a spray painting apprenticeship and had a strong work history until 11 November 2017 when you were badly injured which has impacted your ability to work full time. Since then you have been working casually as a bar tender and handyman.
3. You have had three significant intimate relationships. You have two sons aged 18 and 16. You still have a relationship with your two sons.
4. You have one daughter aged 10 however you haven't seen her since she was 3 as there is a current intervention order in place.
5. Ms Culver was your last intimate relationship which lasted for four years. Ms Culver has two children, a 17 year old son and Connie who is 14 years old.

1. You have experienced problems with mood stability since you were a teenager. Your first decline was in 2010, when you self-admitted as a voluntary patient to the Frankston Hospital psychiatric inpatient unit due to being suicidal. You spent four nights at the hospital and were diagnosed with situational depression and anxiety. You were medicated during this time but it did not address your irritability, temper and mood swings.
2. During the next 18 months, you used sleeping tablets, GHB and alcohol to self-medicate. You began attending a 'Dads in distress' support group.
3. In 2017 you were crushed between two cars and a trailer, you were in the ICU for four days and the trauma ward for eight days. As you had an outstanding warrant, you were arrested and imprisoned for three months. During that time, you were confined to a wheelchair and were not able to access the same treatment you would have received in the community under the Transport Accident Commission.
4. A report prepared for your personal injury solicitors in 2021 by Mr John O'Brien states that you suffer a permanent 'whole person impairment' of 15%.

1. You have a lengthy and relevant criminal record that dates back to 2001 when you were nineteen. You have several times been found guilty of breaching family violence intervention orders (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023).
2. In 2020, you were jailed for 23 months followed by a community correction order for 2 years by this court.[16] The offending against your then partner occurred on the day that you were released from custody having served a sentence for persistent contravention of a family violence intervention order. The offending involved physical violence and was described by the sentencing judge as breaching a court order in a 'sustained, determined and serious manner'.[17]
3. Your offending in December 2023 occurred less than three months after the Bendigo Magistrates' Court confirmed a community correction order for 12 months after finding you had breached the order by further family violence offending.

1. In sentencing you in 2020, his Honour Judge Sexton observed that assessing your rehabilitation prospects was 'complicated'. His Honour referred to your criminal history and 'ongoing insight issues'. Ultimately, your prospects were assessed by the court as 'somewhat guarded'.[18]
2. As part of the current matter, your father, Raymond Swanson, wrote to the court.[19] He is in close contact with you and writes of the close family that continues to support you and your desire to turn your life around. He strongly feels that, with the support of your family, you can do this.
3. However, in light of your further offending since 2020 and your failure to take advantage of the community-based disposition ordered by Judge Sexton, I take a less sanguine view of your prospects. You have breached all but one of the community-based sentences you have received. It is also relevant that your December 2023 offending occurred while you were on bail.
4. In my opinion, your rehabilitation prospects are poor but not yet hopeless in light of your modest attempts to comply with your most recent community correction order.
5. I have sought to give effect to what can only be described as your diminishing rehabilitation prospects by giving you the opportunity to serve part of your sentence in the community under supervision if you are found to be eligible for parole.

1. In comprehensive submissions made on your behalf, your counsel Ms Seoud submitted that your early plea of guilty has facilitated the course of justice in circumstances where Ms Culver did not make a statement. I accept this noting that she and the other victims of your offending have been spared the ordeal of giving evidence at your trial.
2. Ms Soued disavowed any reliance on the Verdins principles but submitted that your physical health will make your time in custody more difficult than would otherwise be the case which I accept.
3. It was also submitted on your behalf that delay is a factor to be considered. The offending occurred in December 2023 and February 2024 and you are being sentenced in June 2025. This delay is not inordinate.
4. Finally, Ms Soued submitted that the principle of totality is important in this sentencing exercise owing to the overlap between the charges. While I accept this, it is also important for the court to acknowledge that there are three victims and two episodes of offending.

1. In the case of DPP v Derby, Vincent JA explained the approach of the courts to sentencing in cases of family violence:

The employment of violence, almost invariably by disappointed males, whether directed against the person or property of a former or desired partner, to express anger, or as a form of retribution in consequence of a relationship failure or perceived rejection, simply cannot be tolerated. Insofar as they are able to do so, through the sentences handed down for such conduct, the courts must endeavour to deter those who may be motivated to act in this way. Accordingly, those who engage in such behaviour must save in the most unusual of circumstances, anticipate the imposition of condign punishment.[20]

1. More recently, the Court of Appeal in Kalala v The Queen observed that:

The trial courts of this State are imposing sentences for family violence offences with increasing frequency. This Court has repeatedly emphasised the need to condemn family violence, in line with community expectations.[21]

1. Finally, in DPP v Evans, a case that also involved family violence, the Court of Appeal stated:

Violence of this kind is alarmingly widespread, and extremely harmful. It is never justified. The sentences imposed must convey that message strongly.[22]

1. In accordance with these authorities, '... general deterrence, public denunciation, just punishment and community protection must be the prominent sentencing factors when sentencing for family violence offending'.[23]
2. In addition, your lengthy criminal history, involving as it does numerous instances of family violence offending, means that specific deterrence also looms large as a sentencing purpose. It appears that little has changed since 2020, when Judge Sexton warned you that any further offending would lead to 'ever increasing sentences of imprisonment'.[24]
3. I reiterate his Honour's observation that 'people with whom you have an intimate relationship have the right to personal autonomy, to be treated with dignity and respect'.[25] This right extends to their children such as Connie.
4. As your counsel acknowledged, only a head sentence and a non-parole period will adequately address your offending.
5. I have imposed sentences in respect of the individual crimes, and I have then considered the principle of totality to ensure the overall sentence is appropriate in all the circumstances and properly reflects your criminality. I have been careful not to doubly punish you for conduct that gives rise to separate charges (such as the assault on 8 December 2023 which was also a breach of the intervention order).

1. On charge 1, contravening a family violence intervention order, you are convicted and sentenced to 9 months' imprisonment.
2. On charge 2, contravening a family violence intervention order, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
3. On charge 3, contravening a family violence intervention order, you are convicted and sentenced to 9 months' imprisonment.
4. On charges 4 and 6, causing injury intentionally and conduct endangering persons respectively, you are convicted and sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 3 years' imprisonment.
5. On charge 5, making threat to inflict serious injury you are convicted and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.
6. On charge 7, damaging property, you are convicted and sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment.
7. On related summary charge 8, contravening a condition of bail, you are convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment.
8. On related summary charge 9, resisting an emergency worker on duty, you are convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment.
9. I find related summary charge 10, acting in a manner prejudicial to the good order of a police gaol, proved and dismiss the charge under s 76 of the Sentencing Act 1991.
10. On related summary charge 18, unlawful assault, you are convicted and sentenced to one month's imprisonment.
11. On related summary charge 21, enter private place without excuse, you are convicted and sentenced to 2 months' imprisonment.
12. The base sentence is that imposed in respect of charges 4 and 6.
13. I order that two months' of the sentence on charge 1, two months' of the sentence on charge 2, two months' of the sentence on charge 3, four months' of the sentence on charge 5, 1 month of the sentence on charge 7 and 1 month of the sentence on related summary charge 21 be served cumulatively on the base sentence and on each other.
14. The other sentences are to be served wholly concurrently.
15. The total effective sentence is therefore four years'.
16. I order that you serve 2 years' and 5 months' in custody before you will be eligible for parole.
17. Pursuant to section 18 of the Sentencing Act 1991, I declare that the period of 417 days during which you have been in custody in relation to the present offending, is to be reckoned as time served in relation to the sentence I impose.
18. Pursuant to section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, if you had pleaded not guilty, the sentence would have been 5 years' and 6 months'; the non-parole period would have been 3 years' and 10 months'.
19. Finally, I will note on your sentence that you require custody management which includes pain management medication for your permanent back injury and medication for your mental health diagnoses.

[1] Contrary to s 96(1) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic).

[2] Contrary to s 18 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ('Crimes Act').

[3] Ibid s 21.

[4] Ibid s 23.

[5] Ibid s 197(1).

[6] Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) s 145.

[7] Contrary to s 30A)(1) of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic).

[8] Contrary to s 51(2) of the Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic) ('Summary Offences Act').

[9] Contrary to regulation 100G(1)(a) of the Corrections Regulations 2019 (Vic).

[10] Summary Offences Act (n 8) s 23.

[15] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 9.

[16] DPP v Swanson [2020] VCC 2073 ('DPP v Swanson').

[19] Letter dated 21 May 2025 ('Exhibit D7').

[20] [2007] VSCA 92, 1 [2].

[21] [2017] VSCA 223, 21 [59].

[22] [2019] VSCA 239, 20 [84].

[23] DPP v Reynolds (a pseudonym) [2022] VSCA 263, 17 [77].