The Court: Frankston Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Alex Miglietti
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was registered as a Sex Offender due to a previous offence for which he was convicted and was placed on the register for eight years. As part of his ongoing obligation under the Sex Offender Registration Act 2004 (Vic), he was required to report any changes to his employment within seven days of the change.
The client had resigned from his job as a warehouse assistant and gained employment with another company. He had failed to notify the police of his change in employment within the legislative requirement’s seven-day period.
The client went to update his employment details with the police 14 days after commencing employment with the company. Police subsequently arrested and interviewed him regarding his failure to comply with his reporting obligations, as he had failed to notify of a change in his details within the required seven-day period.
At Court:
The client informed police during his recorded interview that he believed he had 14 days to report a change in his personal details. Unfortunately, the client had misinterpreted the act. It was a minor breach resulting from a misunderstanding of how the legislation worked. The client instructed our solicitor to enter a plea of guilty to the charge.
Our solicitor made submissions to the Magistrate that the client had willingly attended the police station in person to notify police of his change in employment and thus his failure to report was not deliberate but rather a genuine oversight. Our solicitor further submitted that the client had an excellent track record of compliance and had no previous breaches.
The Outcome:
Following lengthy submissions by our solicitor, the Magistrate imposed a good behaviour bond without conviction for 12 months. This was a fantastic outcome for the client, as Magistrates view breaches of sex offender registration as serious offending.
