The Court: Ringwood Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Ashleigh Wallace
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was a registered sex offender, having been convicted in 2019 of offences involving a child under the age of 16. He was subsequently placed on the Sex Offender Register for 15 years.
The client was charged with six breaches of his sex offender reporting obligations. He had failed to notify the police of changes in his details, including a new email address and new employment. He was staying at his partner’s address a few nights a week, which he had not previously reported to the police.
At Court:
The client was facing a term of imprisonment, as his conduct indicated a complete disregard not only for his obligations under the Register but also for complying with court orders. The client also had four prior convictions for the same offences.
There were, however, three factors working in the client’s favour that our solicitor made submissions on:
- There was some time between the offending and when the matter came to court;
- The client was now (on advice) complying properly with the Act and had put in place strategies to ensure no further breaches would occur; and
- The client’s personal circumstances had changed insofar as he had a job, a steady girlfriend and accommodation.
The Outcome:
After lengthy plea submissions to the court, the Magistrate was satisfied that an immediate term of imprisonment would not be appropriate in the circumstances. The Magistrate ordered that the client be placed on a Community Correction Order for 12 months to undertake unpaid community work and engage in sex offender programs as directed by corrections.
