The Court:
Werribee Magistrates Court
The Charges
The Allegations
The client was previously charged with a sexual offence involving a child under the age of 16 and was placed on the Sex Offender Register. In Victoria, there are ongoing reporting obligations that require registered sex offenders to provide the relevant reportable information to Victoria Police for the entire reporting period. Failure to comply will likely result in criminal charges for breaching reporting obligations. An offence of failing to comply with reporting obligations carries a five-year term of imprisonment.
In this case, our client was charged with three offences of Breaching his Sex Offender Reporting Obligations. This was problematic because the client had previously received a term of imprisonment for his offending, which subsequently led to him being placed on the sex offenders register.
The client had entered into a new relationship and was often staying overnight at his new partner’s home, and had not reported the address to the police. When questioned, the client admitted to staying at his partner’s home regularly but claimed he did not realise he was obligated to report it, as he still maintained his registered primary address in Point Cook.
At Court
Our solicitor attended court and had negotiations with the prosecutors regarding the charges. The client had been charged with three offences of Breaching Sex Offender Reporting Obligations. Our solicitor argued that the charges should be consolidated into a single charge. The prosecution agreed to consolidate the charges into one, and our solicitor subsequently entered a guilty plea to that charge.
The guilty plea was entered on the very first mention date of the matter, which warranted a sentencing discount. Our solicitor made lengthy submissions to the court that the breach was the result of a genuine misunderstanding rather than a deliberate attempt to deceive the police.
The client had been on the register for six years and had no prior breaches.
The Outcome
Our solicitor made submissions that the appropriate disposition in the circumstances would be to impose a financial penalty. The Magistrate agreed with our solicitor’s submissions and imposed a $2,000 fine with conviction.
