A blog revealing the horrors of Islam,International Socialism,the misery these two evils are inflicting upon the free the world,and those it has already enslaved,along with various articles revealing the attacks from within upon the western Judeo Christian ethic by those we entrusted to preserve it. Videos and Pictures of many varied subjects from around the world, along with some jokes of mine and any funny ones you want to send me.
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Warning to all Muslims the world over seeking asylum and protection from the manifestations of their faith.
Do not under any circumstances come to Australia, for we are a Nation founded upon Judeo Christian Law and principles and as such Australia is an anathema to any follower of the Paedophile Slave Trader Mohammad's cult of Islam.
There is no ideology more hated and despised in Australia than Islam.You simply would not like it here.
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Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
Voltaire French author, humanist, rationalist, & satirist (1694 - 1778)
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Those who demand you believe that Islam is a Religion of Peace also demand you believe in Anthropogenic Global Warming.
Aussie News & Views Jan 1 2009
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"But Communism is the god of discontent, and needs no blessing. All it needs is a heart willing to hate, willing to call envy “justice."
Equality then means the violent destruction of all social and cultural distinctions. Freedom means absolute dictatorship over the people."
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Take Hope from the Heart of Man and you make him a Beast of Prey-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“ If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.
“There may be even a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves”
Winston Churchill. Pg.310 “The Hell Makers” John C. Grover ISBN # 0 7316 1918 8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. Winston Churchill. Pg.310 “The Hell Makers” John C. Grover ISBN # 0 7316 1918 8
This matters above everything.
—Confucius
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'a socialist is communist without the courage of conviction to say what he really is'.
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Hontar: We must work in the world, your eminence. The world is thus.
Altamirano: No, Señor Hontar. Thus have we made the world... thus have I made it.
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Voltaire said: “If you want to know who rules over you, just find out who you are not permitted to criticize.”
--------Check this out, what an Bum WOW!!!!
When those sworn to destroy you,Communism, Socialism,"Change you can Believe in" via their rabid salivating Mongrel Dog,Islam,take away your humanity, your God given Sanctity of Life, Created in His Image , If you are lucky this prayer is maybe all you have left, If you believe in God and his Son,Jesus Christ, then you are, despite the evils that may befall you are better off than most.
Lord, I come before You with a heavy heart. I feel so much and yet sometimes I feel nothing at all. I don't know where to turn, who to talk to, or how to deal with the things going on in my life. You see everything, Lord. You know everything, Lord. Yet when I seek you it is so hard to feel You here with me. Lord, help me through this. I don't see any other way to get out of this. There is no light at the end of my tunnel, yet everyone says You can show it to me. Lord, help me find that light. Let it be Your light. Give me someone to help. Let me feel You with me. Lord, let me see what You provide and see an alternative to taking my life. Let me feel Your blessings and comfort. Amen.
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"The chief weapon in the quiver of all Islamist expansionist movements, is the absolute necessity to keep victims largely unaware of the actual theology plotting their demise. To complete this deception, a large body of ‘moderates’ continue to spew such ridiculous claims as “Islam means Peace” thereby keeping non-Muslims from actually reading the Qur’an, the Sira, the Hadith, or actually looking into the past 1400 years of history. Islamists also deny or dismiss the concept of ‘abrogation’, which is the universal intra-Islamic method of replacing slightly more tolerable aspects of the religion in favor of more violent demands for Muslims to slay and subdue infidels"
*DO NOT CLICK ON ANY SENDVID VIDEOS *
Showing posts with label Australia's Finest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia's Finest. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Police Remembrance Day: Hundreds turn out to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice
Police Remembrance Day: Hundreds turn out to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice
Matt Cullen
The Daily Telegraph
September 29, 2015
THEY are the men and women who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to ensure the rest of the community remains safe and sound.
The members of the NSW Police see the best and worst of people on any given day.
From devastating accident scenes to telling the next of kin they have lost a loved one, dealing with violent criminals or picking up someone who has reached their lowest point.
Members of NSW Police have one of the most confronting and difficult jobs in society but it is also rewarding.
Occasionally though one of those members is lost as they do their job leaving a hole in the lives of their family and colleagues.
Since the NSW Police Force was first formed in 1862 there have been 252 officers that have died in the line of duty.
No tribute or salute can ease the pain of those who have lost their loved ones in the line of duty, says NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
Police, politicians and the families of fallen officers gathered at The Domain in Sydney today to remember those who paid the ultimate price.
Mr Baird said it was remarkable that someone would lay down their life for a friend but even more remarkable that they might do so for a stranger.
NSW Governor David Hurley said police are people who see beyond themselves and they prefer to give back to society rather than take.
Every day NSW police receive 300 emergency call-outs that could put officers in dangerous or volatile situations, he said.
“Our people join (the police force) knowing there could be a cost,” he said.
The most recent NSW officer to have died on duty was Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson who was killed in a knife attack in Sydney in December 2012.
After a protracted siege at the home, Barbieri lunged toward Insp Anderson, plunging a hunting knife deep into the officer’s chest and causing his almost immediate death.
Mitchell Barbieri had been facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars — but as he was so significantly influenced by the schizophrenic delusions of his mother Fiona he was instead jailed for at least 26 years.
His 47-year-old mother Fiona, who the Supreme Court heard was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of “substantial impairment”.
She was been sentenced to a minimum term of seven-and-a-half years with a total term of 10 years for manslaughter and resisting arrest.
That same year Senior Constable David James Rixon was shot dead after pulling Michael Allan Jacobs over for a breath test.
Sen-Constable Rixon was shot once in the chest with a bullet fired from a .38 calibre revolver after approaching Jacobs’ stopped Holden Statesman for a random breath test early on March 2 2012.
The policeman returned fire and hit Jacobs three times, leaving the man with “an out of control drug addiction” critically wounded, before he collapsed from his injuries.
Jacobs almost died from his injuries but in his dying moments Sen-Constable Rixon had handcuffed Jacobs to arrest him.
A court heard Jacobs screamed “ah die, I’m sorry sir, sorry” just after the shooting and while “lying gravely wounded could be heard repeatedly saying ‘I’m sorry.’”
Jacobs was the first person to be convicted of murdering a police officer since legislation was introduced in 2011 to ensure such an offence is punished by a sentence of life with no parole.
But they are just two of many, following is a complete list of those who have died in the line of duty.
POLICE OFFICERS WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY
The first recorded death in Australia of a serving Police member
26 Aug 1803 Const. Joseph Luker — assaulted and stabbed by offenders
(Sydney Foot Police)
1862 NSW Police Force (created by the amalgamation of existing Police Forces)
16 Jun 1862 Const. William Havilland — accidentally shot while on a gold escort
23 Feb 1863 Sen Const. John Foy — drowned by floodwaters during an evacuation
25 Feb 1863 Const. Jeremiah O’Horrigan — drowned crossing a flooded river
2 Mar 1863 Const. Thomas Cavanagh — drowned (unknown circumstances)
13 Jul 1863 Const. Michael Farralley — drowned crossing a creek
3 Sep 1863 Const. Michael Quinlivan — drowned crossing a river after a pursuit
19 Oct 1863 Const. Henry Rucker — drowned crossing a creek during a search
22 Jan 1864 Sgt Robert Robinson — accidentally shot after disarming an offender
8 Apr 1864 Const. Michael Kinsella — drowned crossing a creek
8 May 1864 Sen Const. James Johnston — thrown from horse
24 Jun 1864 Sgt David Maginnity — shot by bushranger Morgan
29 Sep 1864 Sen Sgt Thomas Smyth — shot by bushranger Morgan
8 Oct 1864 Const. James Moffat — illness occasioned by duties
16 Nov 1864 Sgt Edmund Parry — shot by bushranger Gilbert
26 Jan 1865 Const. Samuel Nelson — shot by bushranger Dunn
3 Feb 1865 Sen Const. John Ward — shot by bushranger Sam Poo
13 Apr 1865 Sen Const. John Herbert — accidentally shot during a stake-out
29 May 1865 Sgt John Walsh — thrown from horse
9 Apr 1866 Const. Miles O’Grady — shot by bushrangers (Clarke Gang)
14 Apr 1866 Const. William Raymond — shot by an escaping prisoner
9 Jan 1867 Sp Const. John Carroll — shot by bushrangers (Clarke Gang)
9 Jan 1867 Sp Const. Patrick Kennagh — shot by bushrangers (Clarke Gang)
9 Jan 1867 Sp Const. Eneas McDonnell — shot by bushrangers (Clarke Gang)
9 Jan 1867 Sp Const. John Phegan — shot by bushrangers (Clarke Gang)
24 Jan 1867 Const. William Effe — accidentally shot while on a gold escort
30 Apr 1867 Const. Thomas Madden — accidentally shot during a prisoner escape
7 Apr 1868 Const. Hugh Campbell — thrown from horse during a search
1 Nov 1868 Sen Const. John McCabe — shot by bushranger Rutherford
8 May 1869 Const. Thomas Byrne — drowned in a flooded river during evacuation
1 May 1872 Sen Sgt Andrew Sutherland — shot by unknown offenders
11 Sep 1877 Const. George Armytage — shot while attempting to effect arrest
11 Sep 1877 Const. Michael Costigan — shot while attempting to effect arrest
20 Sep 1878 Sen Sgt Thomas Wallings — shot by bushranger Smith
23 Nov 1879 Sen Const. Edward Webb-Bowen — shot by bushranger Nesbitt
12 Mar 1885 Const. 1/C John Mitchell — shot by an escaping prisoner
13 Aug 1885 Const. 1/C William Hird — struck with an axe during an affray
3 Jun 1889 Const. David Sutherland — shot by an offender
11 Jan 1890 Sgt James Beatty — stabbed by an offender
4 Oct 1897 Sen Const. Henry Murrow — assaulted while effecting an arrest
25 Dec 1900 Sen Const. James Murdoch — illness while fighting bushfires
2 Jan 1901 Insp James Bremner — struck by a bolting military horse
19 Jul 1902 Const. 1/C Denis Guilfoyle — shot while effecting an arrest
19 Jan 1903 Const. Samuel Long — shot while effecting an arrest
8 Mar 1905 Const. 1/C William Justin — horse riding accident while on patrol
11 Feb 1906 Const. 1/C John Wallace — shot by an offender
11 Oct 1908 Pro Const. William Adie — thrown from horse while on patrol
19 Apr 1910 Sen Const. Thomas Smith — thrown from horse while on patrol
26 Dec 1911 Sgt 2/C James MacDonnell — shot while effecting an arrest
2 May 1913 Sgt 2/C Edwin Hickey — shot while effecting an arrest
2 Mar 1916 Sgt 1/C William Bowen — assaulted while effecting an arrest
26 Sep 1916 Const. George Duncan — shot by two offenders at Police Station
11 Dec 1917 Sgt 2/C Ramsay Dobbie — injured while effecting an arrest
19 Oct 1918 Det Sgt 2/C William Robertson — thrown from horse while on patrol
6 Nov 1919 Const. 1/C Joseph Hush — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
17 Dec 1920 Const. 1/C Frederick Mitchell — shot by an offender
21 Jan 1921 Const. Frederick Wolgast — shot by an offender
1 Jan 1923 Const. Frank McGrath — fall from motor vehicle on prisoner escort
9 Mar 1924 Const. James Flynn — shot by an escaping prisoner
28 Aug 1926 Sgt 2/C Edgar Williams — motor vehicle accident returning from court
27 May 1927 Const. Owen Bell — struck by a motor vehicle while on patrol
17 Feb 1928 Const. Laurence Alpen — drowned in a flooded creek
3 Jan 1931 Const. Norman Allen — shot while effecting an arrest
3 Jan 1931 Const. Ernest Andrews — shot and stabbed by an offender
25 Mar 1931 Sgt 3/C George Whiteley — struck by an object at a fire scene
19 Apr 1931 Sgt 3/C Patrick Carmody — injuries received in 1926 search
5 Aug 1932 Const. Joseph McCunn — struck by motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
5 Aug 1932 Const. Clifford Bush — struck by motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
9 Apr 1933 Const. 1/C George Stephenson — struck by motorcycle on patrol
2 Apr 1937 Const. George Boore — motorcycle accident while in pursuit
3 Dec 1938 Const. 1/C Frederick McLaughlan — injuries received in 1922 affray
2 Feb 1939 Const. 1/C Harold Sturgiss — motorcycle accident while on patrol
27 Feb 1939 Const. Lionel Guise — shot while effecting an arrest
28 Feb 1939 Const. Nicholas Smith — motorcycle accident at a vehicle stop
28 Feb 1939 Const. Alistair Osgood — motorcycle accident at a vehicle stop
6 Jun 1939 Det Sgt 3/C Cornelius Carroll — struck by motor vehicle on patrol
25 Apr 1940 Det Const. 1/C John Dunn — shot while effecting an arrest
3 Jun 1940 Const. William Webb — injuries from 1923 motorcycle accident
27 Sep 1940 Const. 1/C Duncan Murphy — injuries received in 1938 arrest
22 Aug 1941 Const. Henry Lees — horse riding accident while on patrol
9 Nov 1942 Const. 1/C John Marsh — motorcycle accident while on patrol
31 Jul 1943 Const. George Matthews — assaulted while effecting an arrest
12 Jan 1945 Sgt 3/C Eric Bailey — shot while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the George Cross)
23 Jun 1945 Const. 1/C Alfred Henwood — motorcycle accident while on patrol
12 Jul 1945 Sgt 1/C Allan Eisenhuth — collapsed after effecting an arrest
13 Sep 1945 Sgt 3/C Lawrence Newell — collapsed while effecting an arrest
20 Jul 1946 Const. 1/C Reginald Williams — illness following 1943 incident
11 Aug 1946 Det Const. 1/C Victor Ahearn — shot by escaping prisoners
19 Sep 1946 Sgt 3/C Noel Porter — disease contracted while recovering a body
7 Feb 1947 Const. Clement Bloomfield — motorcycle accident while on patrol
1 May 1947 Const. 1/C John Malone — motorcycle accident while on escort
25 Oct 1947 Const. Lawrence McNeil — motorcycle accident while on patrol
19 Oct 1948 Sgt 3/C Edwin Pratt — struck by a motor vehicle while on point duty
5 Feb 1949 Const. Allen Patch — motorcycle accident while on patrol
25 Jun 1949 Const. 1/C Raymond Morely — injuries received in 1947 arrest
1 Sep 1951 Sgt 1/C William Smith — injuries sustained while effecting an arrest
6 Dec 1951 Sen Const. Frank Mills — struck by motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
1 Jun 1953 Const. Garnet Mortley — motorcycle accident while on escort
11 Aug 1953 Const. Evan Williams — motorcycle accident while on patrol
26 Nov 1953 Const. Frederick Martin — motor vehicle accident returning from court
20 May 1954 Const. Reginald Sutherland — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
2 Jun 1954 Const. Cecil Sewell — motorcycle accident during a pursuit
21 Oct 1954 Const. Edward Dilks — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
26 Feb 1955 Const. Bernard Orrock — electrocuted during flood rescue duties (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
29 Apr 1956 Sgt 2/C Cecil Ellis — injuries sustained while effecting an arrest
22 Aug 1956 Sgt 3/C Allen Nash — shot by an offender (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
15 Mar 1957 Det Sen Const. Alexander Strachan — illness from 1953 investigation
16 May 1957 Const. 1/C Trevor Dodds — motorcycle accident while on patrol
21 May 1957 Sen Const. James Gregory — collapse following a body recovery
30 Jul 1957 Const. 1/C Kenneth Coussens — private residence bombed (his wife and baby child were also killed in the explosion)
28 Aug 1957 Const. Jack Harman — motorcycle accident en route to duty
15 Sep 1957 Const. 1/C Neville Jury — motorcycle accident while on patrol
23 Apr 1958 Const. John Graham — injuries from 1948 motorcycle accident
26 Apr 1958 Const. 1/C Athol Johnson — stabbed while effecting an arrest
24 May 1958 Const. 1/C Stanley McInerney — collapsed after effecting an arrest
14 Nov 1958 Const. Brian Boaden — motorcycle accident during a pursuit
23 Dec 1958 Const. William Lord — motorcycle accident during a pursuit
31 Jul 1959 Const. James Clifton — motorcycle accident while on patrol
11 Sep 1959 Sgt 2/C Raymond McLean — collapsed after restraining a prisoner
2 Oct 1960 Const. William Green — motorcycle accident while on urgent duty
13 Oct 1960 Sen Const. Clarence Pirie — shot while effecting an arrest
20 Jan 1961 Const. Frances Burke — drowned while attempting a rescue at sea
15 Apr 1961 Const. Ronald Sommerville — motorcycle accident while on patrol
2 Sep 1961 Const. 1/C Douglas Harries — struck by a motor vehicle on point duty
14 Oct 1961 Const. 1/C Graham Ponter — motorcycle accident while on patrol
14 Oct 1961 Const. James Kinnane — motorcycle accident during a pursuit
18 Apr 1962 Const. Eric Oliff — motorcycle accident while on escort duties
21 Oct 1962 Const. Peter Hardacre — motorcycle accident while on patrol
5 Jun 1963 Const. David Murray — motorcycle accident while on patrol
7 Sep 1963 Const. Colin Robb — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
20 Dec 1963 Sgt 3/C Cyril Howe — shot while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
11 May 1964 Const. Allan Shaw — motor vehicle accident while on urgent duty
21 Apr 1965 Sen Const. Oswald Watts — injuries from 1955 motor vehicle accident
8 Jul 1966 Sgt 2/C William McKie — injuries sustained in 1964 arrest
5 Oct 1966 Const. Peter Mahon — motorcycle accident while on patrol
6 Nov 1966 Const. Colin Hollingsworth — motor vehicle accident en route home
27 Dec 1966 Pro Const. Geoffrey Daley — motorcycle accident while on patrol
23 Mar 1967 Const. 1/C Paul Bains — collapsed after effecting an arrest
12 May 1967 Const. Colin Roy — motorcycle accident en route home
8 Oct 1967 Const. Edward Stephen — motorcycle accident en route home
8 Oct 1968 Sgt 2/C Adam Schell — shot while effecting an arrest
30 Oct 1968 Pro Const. Warren Burns — motorcycle accident while training
19 Mar 1969 Const. Raymond Paff — injuries from 1953 motor vehicle accident
15 Apr 1969 Const. 1/C Robert Turnbull — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
21 Dec 1969 Const. David Reiher — motorcycle accident during a vehicle stop
9 Feb 1970 Const. 1/C Warren Sargent — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
25 Apr 1970 Sgt 3/C Ronald McGowan — motor vehicle accident en route home
2 Oct 1970 Det Const. 1/C Denis Ware — accidentally shot during a stake-out
13 Aug 1971 Sen Const. William King — shot by an offender at Police Residence
29 Aug 1971 Const. 1/C Patrick Hackett — motor vehicle accident UN duty Cyprus
30 Sep 1971 Sgt 1/C William Riley — shot while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
30 Sep 1971 Sgt 3/C Maurice McDiarmid — shot while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
23 Jan 1972 Const. Joseph Gibb — accidentally shot while effecting an arrest
27 Feb 1972 Det Sgt 2/C John McEntee — disease occasioned by duties
12 Nov 1972 Sen Const. Neville Parker — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
24 Mar 1973 Const. Robert Thomson — motorcycle accident while on patrol
15 Apr 1973 Const. Clifford Wadwell — motorcycle accident en route home
12 May 1973 Sgt 2/C John Gill — collapse en route to duty
22 Sep 1973 Const. 1/C Christopher McIntosh — motorcycle accident on patrol
16 Feb 1974 Const. 1/C Robert Dominish — motor vehicle accident en route home
24 May 1974 Const. James Martin — struck by a motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
13 Jul 1974 Det Sgt 3/C Dallis Kemp — collapse while undergoing training
14 Aug 1974 Const. Edward Devine — motorcycle accident while on urgent duty
12 Nov 1974 Const. 1/C Class Ian Ward — landmine explosion UN duty Cyprus
22 Mar 1975 Sgt 3/C Robert Lynch — motorcycle accident en route home
7 Jul 1975 Det Sgt 1/C Stephen Powell — collapse while undergoing training
2 Dec 1976 Const. Terry Moncur — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
30 Apr 1977 Sen Const. Douglas Eaton — shot by offenders (posthumously awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry)
3 May 1977 Sen Const. Alan Thompson — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
3 May 1977 Sen Const. Raymond Scorer — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
15 Oct 1977 Sen Const. Lindsay Gilfeather — motor vehicle accident on patrol
22 Feb 1978 Const. 1/C Paul Burmistriw — bomb explosion at CHOGM Sydney
23 Jun 1978 Det Sgt 3/C John Walton — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
10 Jan 1979 Const. Gordon Patrech — motor vehicle accident en route home
11 Mar 1979 Sgt 1/C John Colbert — struck by motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
19 Jan 1980 Det Sgt 1/C Reginald Stevenson — injuries sustained when shot by an offender in 1974 (awarded Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct)
2 Feb 1980 Const. 1/C Kevin Coulson — injuries from 1960 motorcycle accident
5 May 1980 Sen Const. Ronald Burley — motorcycle accident en route home
24 Nov 1980 Sgt 3/C Keith Haydon — shot by an offender
13 May 1981 Sgt 3/C Lindsay Spence — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
4 Mar 1982 Const. 1/C Mark Kohutek — motorcycle accident while on patrol
17 Nov 1983 Sen Const. John Hutchins — motorcycle accident en route to duty
26 Dec 1983 Pro Const. Wayne Lee — motorcycle accident en route to duty
20 Feb 1984 Sgt 1/C Rhoderic Lindsay — injuries undertaking a rescue at sea
4 Apr 1984 Const. Pashalis Katsivelas — shot by an escaping prisoner
3 Jan 1985 Const. 1/C Wayne Rixon — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
25 Jul 1985 Det Const. Steven Tier — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
12 Sep 1985 Sgt Ralph Lloyd — illness occasioned by duties
30 Mar 1986 Sgt 3/C Paul Quinn — shot by an offender following a pursuit
22 Apr 1986 Det Sgt 3/C Jillian Hawkes — injuries sustained during 1977 arrest
17 Jul 1986 Sgt 3/C Harold Evans — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
1 Sep 1986 Sgt 3/C Ross Jennings — collapse while undertaking fatigue duties
10 Sep 1986 Sen Const. Warren James — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
23 Jan 1987 Const. Mark Postma — collapse following completion of duty
17 Apr 1987 Pro Const. Dana Heffernan — motor vehicle accident en route to duty
7 May 1987 Sgt 2/C Stewart Cook — motor vehicle accident en route home
3 Jun 1987 Pro Const. Andrew Dixon — self-inflicted occasioned by duties
21 Jun 1987 Sen Const. Gregory Earle — motorcycle accident on urgent duty
20 Oct 1987 Pro Const. Themelis Macarounas — motor vehicle accident in pursuit
25 Dec 1987 Sen Const. Ronald Roe — illness occasioned by duties
16 Mar 1988 Const. 1/C Craig Zucchetti — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
17 Mar 1988 Const. 1/C Mark Burns — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
8 May 1988 Const. Kurt Schetor — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
24 Aug 1988 Const. 1/C Peter Carter — motorcycle accident during a pursuit
29 Aug 1988 Const. Gregory Ashworth — motor vehicle accident on urgent duty
25 Oct 1988 Const. Brett Sinclair — injuries sustained while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award)
30 Nov 1988 Pro Const. Sharon Wilson — accidentally shot at Police Station
2 Jan 1989 Det Sen Const. Risto Baltoski — motor vehicle accident on patrol
17 Mar 1989 Const. 1/C John Ward — motorcycle accident en route home
23 Mar 1989 Const. 1/C Andrew Murray — drowned attempting a rescue at sea (posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award)
27 Apr 1989 Const. John Burgess — motor vehicle accident on urgent duty
5 May 1989 Const. Allan McQueen — shot while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Star of Courage)
13 Jun 1989 Const. 1/C Peter Figtree — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
14 Jun 1989 Sen Const. Glenn Rampling — motor vehicle accident during a pursuit
29 Oct 1989 Sgt Paul Kilkeary — injuries occasioned from undergoing training
1990 — NSW Police Service (change of name from NSW Police Force)
13 Jan 1990 Sen Const. Grant Eastes — self-inflicted occasioned by duties
11 Mar 1990 Sgt Warren Hobson — injuries arising from 1989 accident
11 Jul 1990 Const. Kenneth Short — motor vehicle accident on urgent duty
14 Aug 1990 Det Const. 1/C David Oakley — injuries sustained in 1988 arrest
7 Dec 1990 Sen Const. Peter Tickle — self-inflicted occasioned by duties
29 May 1991 Det Sgt Leonard Dean — illness occasioned by duties
28 Sep 1991 Det Sgt Richard Whittaker — illness occasioned by duties
31 Oct 1991 Det Const. 1/C Bradley McNamara — collapse undergoing training
30 Nov 1992 Const. 1/C Juan Hernandez — accidentally shot while instructing
22 May 1993 Sgt John Proops — collapse while effecting an arrest
15 Aug 1994 Sen Const. Dallas Tidyman — motorcycle accident while instructing
17 Mar 1995 Det Sen Const. Jack Nugter — motor vehicle accident while on patrol
30 May 1995 Insp Paul Daley — collapse undergoing training
8 Jun 1995 Sen Sgt Wayne George — motorcycle accident while on patrol
15 Jun 1995 Sen Const. Peter McGrath — self-inflicted occasioned by duties
9 Jul 1995 Sen Const. Peter Addison — shot by an offender (posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award)
9 Jul 1995 Sen Const. Robert Spears — shot by an offender (posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award)
18 Apr 1997 Const. David Carty — stabbed during an affray
28 Feb 1998 Const. Peter Forsyth — stabbed while effecting an arrest (posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award)
10 Jun 1998 Sen Const. Ronald McGown — illness occasioned by duties
13 Jul 1998 Sen Sgt Raymond Smith — motorcycle accident en route to duty
7 Jan 2000 Const. Matthew Potter — shot at Police Station
14 Jan 2001 Sen Const. James Affleck — struck by motor vehicle while deploying road spikes (posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award)
2002 — NSW Police (change of name from NSW Police Service)
1 Feb 2002 SPO Robert Brotherson — motor vehicle accident on patrol
3 Apr 2002 Const. Glenn McEnallay — shot by an offender following a pursuit (posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award)
13 Apr 2002 Sen Const. Christopher Thornton — motor vehicle accident in pursuit
3 Feb 2003 Const. Kylie Smith — motor vehicle accident en route to duty
15 Sep 2003 Det Sgt Mark Speechley — collapse while on duty
14 Nov 2003 Det Insp Andrew Day — illness occasioned by duties
19 Jun 2004 Const. Shelley Davis — motor vehicle accident on patrol
4 Apr 2005 Const. Graeme Lees — motor vehicle accident en route to duty
14 Jun 2006 Policing Student Steven Roser — collapse undergoing training
28 Sep 2006 Sgt Colin McKenzie — collapse while on duty in ACT
11 Nov 2006 Sen Const. Gordon Wilson — struck by motor vehicle at a vehicle stop
15 Nov 2006 Sen Sgt Loreto Finucci — collapse while on duty in ACT
9 Sept 2010 Det Const. William Arthur George Crews — shot during the execution of a search warrant in Bankstown NSW. (Posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award).
2 Mar 2012 Senior Constable David James Rixon — shot while conducting a traffic stop in Tamworth NSW. (Posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award).
6 Dec 2012 Det Insp Bryson Charles Anderson — stabbed at a siege in Oakville NSW. (Posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award)
Monday, September 21, 2015
Islamic State Australian Defence Force releases video of fighter jets destroying IS targets in Iraq
Australia's Finest.
........now controlled by this Turnbull Affirmative Action Token Woman.
Marise Payne and Australian Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove
Monday, April 14, 2014
ANZAC Day 2014: Youngest Diggers to lead ANZAC Day Parade
Who is Damien Thomlinson ?
100 Years of Untold ANZAC Stories: Brave service to the nation etched in ink and blood
Labels:
ADF,
ANZAC Day,
Australia's Finest,
Damien Thomlinson
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Australia's Finest: 100th Victoria Cross awarded to late Digger Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird
100th Victoria Cross awarded to late Digger Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird
Jennifer Rajca and Simon Benson
The Daily Telegraph
February 13, 2014
A DIGGER killed in Afghanistan has been posthumously awarded Australia’s 100th Victoria Cross, which left his father fighting back tears.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott informed Federal Parliament of Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird’s honour, as his family looked on.
“This is a bittersweet day,” Mr Abbott told the Lower House, explaining the honour was for “acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self-sacrifice”.
Corporal Baird died in Afghanistan on June 22 last year.
He was the 40th digger to die in the conflict.
FALLEN SOLDIER CORPORAL BAIRD HAD COURAGE THAT CANNOT BE TAUGHT
Mr Abbott said Baird was an iconic figure in the army, and had already received the medal of gallantry.
He is being awarded the cross for most conspicuous acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self sacrifice in Afghanistan as a commando team leader.
Mr Abbott said Corporal Baird joined the army at 18 and was eventually posted to what is now the 2nd Commando Regiment.
He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The late Corporal’s brother Brendan said it was a “tremendous honour” to accept the award on his behalf.
“Today is a proud day for the Baird family,” he told reporters.
“Cameron never liked the limelight, he was a very humble man who would not see this as an individual award.”
Brendan thanked the Army and the Defence Force on the family’s behalf.
His father Doug choked back tears as he recited the ‘soldier’s code’ given to his son.
“I had the honour to be a soldier in the Australian army,” he read, before being comforted by his wife Kaye.
“At all times I act in ways that will bring honour to Australia, credit upon the army, my unit and my fellow soldiers,” he went on.
“I think that sums Cameron up.”
FOR THE FULL LIST OF VC WINNERS CLICK HERE
IN PICTURES: DIGGERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Mr Abbott said Corporal Baird was the 40th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan.
“And, please God, the last,” he said.
“He was on his fifth special forces tour when he was killed in the action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.”
Addressing Corporal Baird’s family members in the public gallery, he said: “You have lost a son, a brother, an uncle and our country has lost a citizen, a soldier, a hero.”
Mr Abbott recalled the day Corporal Baird died, telling how he and his team came under heavy fire on three separate occasions “from well prepared enemy positions”.
“Corporal Baird charged enemy positions and neutralised them with grenade and rifle fire,” he said.
“By drawing fire on himself repeatedly he enabled other members of his team to regain the initiative.”
Mr Abbott then explained how the Commando then led an assault on an enemy-led compound, forcing the door of the building before being killed.
“Words can hardly do justice to the chaos, confusion and courage which were evident that day,” he said.
“He repeatedly drew enemy fire away from his team members and charged enemy positions under heavy fire,” Mr Abbott said.
“His actions enabled the enemy to be neutralised and his team to be kept safe.
“This award is in recognition of his most conspicuous acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self-sacrifice.
“The Victoria Cross is inscribed with the words “For Valour”.
“Corporal Baird’s actions were in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.
“He is an Australian hero.”
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it was difficult to convey words that would properly describe Corporal Baird’s acts of heroism.
“I hope his family here feel that our Parliament, all of us here, do some justice to his memory today,” Mr Shorten said.
He said the VC is part of a proud military and Australian tradition, which recognises the courage to sacrifice your own safety for your friends.
“A quality Corporal Baird exemplified to the highest degree,” Mr Shorten added.
Corporal Baird was a member of the Special Operations Task Group and was from the 2nd Commando Regiment based at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, New South Wales.
He is survived by his parents, brother and his partner.
Corporal Baird was born in Burnie, Tasmania in 1981. He joined the Army in January 2000 and upon completion of his initial training was posted to the then 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment, now the 2nd Commando Regiment, in February 2000.
Corporal Baird was an outstanding Special Forces soldier.
The Defence Department website states: “He exemplified what it meant to be a Commando, living by the attributes of uncompromising spirit and honour, which in turn earned him the unconditional respect of his fellow Commandos. His leadership in action was exemplary, constantly inspiring those around him to achieve greater things.
“Corporal Baird was an extremely dedicated and disciplined soldier, always striving for excellence in everything he did.
“Corporal Baird died how he lived — at the front, giving it his all, without any indecision. He will forever be remembered by his mates and the soldiers he served with in the 2nd Commando Regiment.”
Jennifer Rajca and Simon Benson
The Daily Telegraph
February 13, 2014
A DIGGER killed in Afghanistan has been posthumously awarded Australia’s 100th Victoria Cross, which left his father fighting back tears.
“This is a bittersweet day,” Mr Abbott told the Lower House, explaining the honour was for “acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self-sacrifice”.
Corporal Baird died in Afghanistan on June 22 last year.
He was the 40th digger to die in the conflict.
FALLEN SOLDIER CORPORAL BAIRD HAD COURAGE THAT CANNOT BE TAUGHT
Mr Abbott said Baird was an iconic figure in the army, and had already received the medal of gallantry.
He is being awarded the cross for most conspicuous acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self sacrifice in Afghanistan as a commando team leader.
Mr Abbott said Corporal Baird joined the army at 18 and was eventually posted to what is now the 2nd Commando Regiment.
He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The late Corporal’s brother Brendan said it was a “tremendous honour” to accept the award on his behalf.
“Today is a proud day for the Baird family,” he told reporters.
“Cameron never liked the limelight, he was a very humble man who would not see this as an individual award.”
Brendan thanked the Army and the Defence Force on the family’s behalf.
His father Doug choked back tears as he recited the ‘soldier’s code’ given to his son.
“I had the honour to be a soldier in the Australian army,” he read, before being comforted by his wife Kaye.
“At all times I act in ways that will bring honour to Australia, credit upon the army, my unit and my fellow soldiers,” he went on.
“I think that sums Cameron up.”
FOR THE FULL LIST OF VC WINNERS CLICK HERE
IN PICTURES: DIGGERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN
Mr Abbott said Corporal Baird was the 40th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan.
“And, please God, the last,” he said.
“He was on his fifth special forces tour when he was killed in the action for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.”
Addressing Corporal Baird’s family members in the public gallery, he said: “You have lost a son, a brother, an uncle and our country has lost a citizen, a soldier, a hero.”
Mr Abbott recalled the day Corporal Baird died, telling how he and his team came under heavy fire on three separate occasions “from well prepared enemy positions”.
“Corporal Baird charged enemy positions and neutralised them with grenade and rifle fire,” he said.
“By drawing fire on himself repeatedly he enabled other members of his team to regain the initiative.”
Mr Abbott then explained how the Commando then led an assault on an enemy-led compound, forcing the door of the building before being killed.
“Words can hardly do justice to the chaos, confusion and courage which were evident that day,” he said.
“He repeatedly drew enemy fire away from his team members and charged enemy positions under heavy fire,” Mr Abbott said.
“His actions enabled the enemy to be neutralised and his team to be kept safe.
“This award is in recognition of his most conspicuous acts of valour, extreme devotion to duty and ultimate self-sacrifice.
“The Victoria Cross is inscribed with the words “For Valour”.
“Corporal Baird’s actions were in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.
“He is an Australian hero.”
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it was difficult to convey words that would properly describe Corporal Baird’s acts of heroism.
“I hope his family here feel that our Parliament, all of us here, do some justice to his memory today,” Mr Shorten said.
He said the VC is part of a proud military and Australian tradition, which recognises the courage to sacrifice your own safety for your friends.
“A quality Corporal Baird exemplified to the highest degree,” Mr Shorten added.
Corporal Baird was a member of the Special Operations Task Group and was from the 2nd Commando Regiment based at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, New South Wales.
He is survived by his parents, brother and his partner.
Corporal Baird was born in Burnie, Tasmania in 1981. He joined the Army in January 2000 and upon completion of his initial training was posted to the then 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment, now the 2nd Commando Regiment, in February 2000.
Corporal Baird was an outstanding Special Forces soldier.
The Defence Department website states: “He exemplified what it meant to be a Commando, living by the attributes of uncompromising spirit and honour, which in turn earned him the unconditional respect of his fellow Commandos. His leadership in action was exemplary, constantly inspiring those around him to achieve greater things.
“Corporal Baird was an extremely dedicated and disciplined soldier, always striving for excellence in everything he did.
“Corporal Baird died how he lived — at the front, giving it his all, without any indecision. He will forever be remembered by his mates and the soldiers he served with in the 2nd Commando Regiment.”
Friday, January 17, 2014
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Remember When: Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen,The woman who fought back for the victims.
The woman who fought back for the victims
By Candace Sutton
SMH
August 18 2002
She has prosecuted some of the nation's worst paedophiles, nailed a hit man, brought to justice sex abusing priests and looked after the cases of dozens of rape victims.
She is motherly to the victims as she prepares for a trial, but when it comes to hammering home her case, Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen can be as hard as nails.
And while her prosecution work is by its nature very personal, Ms Cunneen had never heard anything quite like the sort of abuse being hurled about in the courtroom as she cross-examined one of the perpetrators in the recent landmark rape case.
It is not every day that a rapist's relative in open court will call a barrister, who is herself a mother of three, a "slut".
But there it was, the woman in the veil - under Islam, meant to symbolise honour, respect and dignity - yelling out advice in Arabic to her son as he answered Ms Cunneen's questions in the witness box: "Sharmoota, give it to the sharmoota."
It's not exactly water off a duck's back for Ms Cunneen, who returns home from days in court to her three young sons who are around the same age as the boys who fell victim to convicted pedophile Robert "Dolly" Dunn.
It was Ms Cunneen who, during her prosecution of the schoolteacher, successfully argued that the shocking video of Dunn's sexual exploits with young males be shown to the jury.
It was a move which drew criticism from some of her peers, disdainful of what they call "kiddie sex cases", but which helped secure the conviction of Dunn, who was jailed in December 2001 for 30 years.
For what some might see as grisly or even depressing work, Ms Cunneen seems to have a vocation.
After the 55-year benchmark sentence by Judge Michael Finnane last week, Ms Cunneen remarked that "these are difficult cases to prosecute and require a lot of energy to convey the evidence to the jury.
"This is the perfect case to see how well the systems of government, right from the time police began interviewing the girls, are co-ordinated."
When approached for comment about the case, Ms Cunneen declined.
But it is clear that the choice of Ms Cunneen for the job of prosecuting the four gang rape trials, which began in November last year and ended last week, was a good one.
Arguably, Ms Cunneen's successful prosecution of "X" has changed the face of sex crimes trials in Australia forever.
Reporters who have covered the trial - and colleagues who have followed her 25-year career - say her grit and resilience, as well as her empathy with the victims, ensured its success.
And Ms Cunneen's career seems to have prepared her perfectly for the task.
When she left school in 1976, MsCunneen could not afford to study full-time and worked as a law clerk in the NSW Attorney-General's office to put herself through the University of Technology.
After graduating, before she did her Masters part-time at Sydney University, she worked for the Public Service Board as a prosecutor, often on cases in which Department of Community Services employees had abused children.
She joined the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the age of 27 as the solicitor in charge of the Child Sexual Assault Unit and earned a reputation as a prosecutor with a certain drive to assist victims of sexual violence, "to give them a voice", a colleague of Ms Cunneen's said.
"She is very good at explaining the dynamics of the situation of a victim to juries," the colleague said.
"She gets very close to the victims and understands them very well. Some of them stay in touch for years afterwards."
Twelve years ago, Ms Cunneen was appointed as a Crown Prosecutor and the cases thrown her way by the DPP, Nicholas Cowdery, QC, and his predecessor Reg Blanch, have a theme.
Somewhere in there, Ms Cunneen had three sons, now aged between 10 and 14 years.
A woman judicial officer, who has known Ms Cunneen since they were teenage girls, says she feels strongly the importance of changing the landscape in rape cases "from where it was 20 years ago when girls were 'asking for it' and were questioned about their sex lives and the clothes they wore 'to the rape'."
A stylish woman with a ready laugh and a gregarious nature, Ms Cunneen drinks beer and takes it by the schooner, but usually is seen rushing home from Sydney's Downing Centre to see her boys.
In a mostly man's world, where some barristers consider prosecuting as being on the wrong side of the bar table, Ms Cunneen has one of the most offensive case loads of any legal mind in the country.
She has prosecuted pedophiles Phillip Bell and Colin Fisk, the St Gerard Majella priests who preyed on their novices, three young Muslim men who raped a woman during a home invasion, the Campsie serial rapist Quoc Vinh "Vincent"
To and cross-examined Samantha Knight's murderer, Michael Guider, when he was on trial for having photographs of underage girls.
Ms Cunneen is said to live and breathe her cases, but possesses enormous energy and has a black belt in tae kwon do.
Theoretically, she could pole axe with one kick anyone who called her a "sharmoota".
Last week, in civvies, without a flick of her horsehair wig, Ms Cunneen did just that.
* Picture added by ANV at time of posting this article 231113
Full transcript of rape sentencing.
24aug02
THE DISTRICT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
Judge Michael John Finnane QC
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2002
01/11/0877
Regina v H.
SENTENCE
HIS HONOUR:
X was the leader of a brutal gang of rapists, who on three occasions, raped four young women. His activities and those of his gang spread terror in Sydney in August 2000, just before the commencement of the Olympic Games.
The gang consisted of varying numbers of men, up to about fourteen. Not all of them have been caught. Those who have been caught and brought to justice were either identified by the victims or pleaded guilty because evidence had been found to connect them with the offences.
The activities of the gang were organised by the use of mobile phones and there was a considerable degree of planning and co-ordination involved in each set of attacks.
As is common with rapists, the gang members treated each of their victims with callous indifference and considerable cruelty.
H was a member of this gang and in common with X, Y, Chami, Hajeid, X1, Z, M and M1 participated in rape episodes in which each of these offenders was involved. He participated in the rapes of Miss A and Miss B on 10th August 2000 and was one of the 14 rapists to attack Miss C on 30th August 2000.
Apart from his participation in those two episodes, he with three other males detained Miss E on a train, indecently assaulted her, committed acts of indecency towards her and committed a series of common assaults. She was 14 years old.
The courts must attempt to protect society from the possibility that those who have been caught will engage in this type of activity again and the sentences which I impose have as their principal aim, the protection of society, but, as my reasons will indicate, I also give weight to evidence that H is remorseful, that he can be rehabilitated and that he has some intellectual disability. The combination of these factors, together with the fact that he has pleaded guilty from an early stage, has resulted in my imposition of sentences which separately and in total are less than the sentences imposed on X and Hajeid who expressed no remorse, called no evidence and offered no reason for me to exercise leniency in any way.
Sentencing Principles
The principles upon which I must act in sentencing this offender are laid down by Statute and in case law. The statutory provisions are are now expressed in Section 21A of the Crimes( Sentencing Procedure) Act,1999. This section came into force only on 15 April 2002 and applies only to proceedings which commenced after that date. All
the proceedings against H had commenced before this date, but it is convenient to set out the provisions of the Act, because the principles have in practice been applied for many years.
Crimes ( Sentencing Procedure) Act,1999
Section 21A. General sentencing principles
(1) In determining the sentence to be imposed on an offender, a court must impose a sentence of a severity that is appropriate in all the circumstances of the case.
(2) For that purpose, the court must take into account such of the following matters as are relevant and known to the court:
(a) the nature and circumstances of the case,
(b) if the offence forms part of a course of conduct consisting of a series of criminal acts---that course of conduct,
(c) the personal circumstances of any victim of the offence, including:
(i) the age of the victim (particularly if the victim is very old or very young), and
(ii) any physical or mental disability of the victim, and
(iii) any vulnerability of the victim arising because of the nature of the victim's occupation,
(d) any injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence,
(e) the degree to which the offender has shown contrition for the offence:
(i) by taking action to make reparation for any injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence, or
(ii) in any other manner,
(f) the need to deter the offender or other persons from committing an offence of the same or a similar character,
(g) the need to protect the community from the offender,
(h) the need to ensure that the offender is adequately punished for the offence,
i) the character, antecedents, cultural background, age, means and physical or mental condition of the offender,
(j) the prospect of rehabilitation of the offender.
(3) In addition, in determining whether a sentence under Division 2 or 3 of Part 2 is appropriate, the court must have regard to the nature and severity of the conditions that may be imposed on, or may apply to, the offender under that sentence.
(4) The matters to be taken into account by a court under this section are in addition to any other matters that are required or permitted to be taken into account by the court under this Act or any other law.
(5) This section does not apply to the determination of a sentence if proceedings (other than committal proceedings) for the offence were commenced in a court before the commencement of this section.
. I have paid particular regard to the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal in Regina v AEM and others.([2002]
CCA 58 ).
In my opinion, that decision is important because it gives guidance on the correct principles to apply in sentencing for offences of sexual intercourse without consent in circumstances of aggravation, where the aggravation alleged is that the offence was committed in company, where the offenders were young and the victims were young.
There are, of course, significant factual differences between the facts of that case and the facts of these three cases. However, each of the accused in Regina v AEM and others, pleaded guilty well before trial, just as H has done and the sentences imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal were imposed on that basis. The case came before the
Court of Criminal Appeal as a Crown Appeal and the Court made it plain that although it increased the sentences significantly, the principle of Double Jeopardy meant that the sentences it imposed were the least that could properly have been imposed by the sentencing judge (See Judgment paras 144 and 145).
Regina v AEM and others, also involved threats to kill, the use of a knife to enforce compliance and forcible vaginal sex against one victim who was menstruating at the time.
The Court of Criminal Appeal also made it clear that these were adult offences and the offenders deserved to be sentenced on that basis. Clearly, a trial judge sentencing should give serious consideration to imposing sentences which are more severe in respect of such offences than the sentences imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
4th August 2000 – a train going to Punchbowl.
Miss E who was 14 years old was returning to Punchbowl by train from the city where she had been doing some part time work. She was still a schoolgirl. It was probably about 8.20pm when four males approached her. The offender, H, took the leading role in what happened.
One of them called her by her first name, probably because he attended the same school, but she did not know any of them.
One of them asked her: " Do you suck?". Being an assertive young woman, she told him in no uncertain terms what shethought.
H sat beside her, put his arm around her in a rough fashion and placed his right hand on her thigh. He tried to move this up to her groin area and he then said:
" Will you fuck me? Come on, you'll like it. It' s really big"
She pulled his hand from her thigh and tried to remove his other arm. The moving of his hand up her thigh constitutes the form 1 offence of aggravated indecent assault.
He then put his face close to hers and said : " You're a slut, will you come out with me?" and made various other unpleasant remarks.
She pushed him away, but he and the others persisted in this very unpleasant and harassing conduct.
In the course of this, she was punched twice and threatened her with violence. She also was grabbed around the neck by one of this gang who put a condom in her face and said: " come for a fuck." This assault was another form 1 offence and the punching was another form one offence.
H pulled down his pants, exposed his penis. He then put a condom on it and proceeded to masturbate in front of her, although she turned her head away. This was count one on the indictment, the committing of an act of indecency.
Miss E then said to H :" you wonder why people don't like the Lebanese". He then slapped her. This is count two on the indictment, a charge of common assault.
The other males laughed when H slapped her. H got a call on his mobile phone and said to the caller in English:" I've got a slut with me, bro, come to Punchbowl". Having regard to the other evidence to which I have referred, and to evidence given in the trials relating to offences against Misses A,B and C that H and X were frequent callers to one another, it seems likely to me that he was in fact talking to X. He certainly was not talking to any of his brothers, who are completely innocent men. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he and the caller were planning to abduct Miss E for the purposes of rape by H and other men.
H then pushed his crutch up to her face and said "come for a fuck." She was unable to push him away. This is the subject of a Form one offence of committing an act of indecency. He then demanded that she give him a "head job" and told her that she would have to give a head job to the others too. They all laughed.
He then placed his arm around her waist and began rubbing her legs before touching her on the vagina outside her clothes. This was the subject of count 3 , aggravated indecent assault ( aggravated , because she was under the age of 16 years.)
H and the others kept her under their close control, which is the subject of count 4 of detaining her for advantage.
They kept hold of her as they were getting out of the train at Punchbowl. As they were alighting, H, who had hold of her, pointed out a man in the distance and said: my friend wants a head job." She then broke free, ran up the stairs, got to her home and told her mother what had happened. Mother and daughter then ran back towards the station. H and the others were still there and someone in the group said loudly and contemptuously, :" Here comes the slut's mother."
These offences were very serious. H and the others were prepared to attack a 14 year old innocent and helpless victim on a public train, assault her, insult her, sexually molest her and kidnap her, obviously intending to do worse after they got off the train.
H and the others were bullies, cowards, and acted in a contemptible and mean way. These crimes warrant stern punishment. A message must go out to any like minded individuals, no matter what their age, that all persons are entitled to travel in public transport with the protection of their safety guaranteed by law. If anyone should take it on himself to harm a fellow traveller, he should expect to receive a heavy sentence for doing so. Those doing this as a prelude to gang rape should expect very severe sentences.
Northcote Park Greenacre 10 August 2000.
Miss A and Miss B were together at the Mall at Chatswood. It was a Thursday night and both of them had been at the shopping centre, browsing around. Eight men, of whom X was one, and which included Y, Hajeid, H and another man to be known hereafter as S1, approached them and persuaded them to accompany them in two cars.
Miss B was quite keen to go, but Miss A went only because she felt she should accompany her friend.
Both got into a white van, which contained four of the men. The other four men got into a red car. Y, H and Hajeid were passengers in the red car.
The white van had no seats in the back and it was to this area that Miss A and Miss B went. X introduced himself to them as Adam and claimed he was 22 years old.
All the men, being of Lebanese origin, spoke Arabic and at various times during the night, the men in each car communicated with one another in that language, using mobile phones. Neither of the victims understood Arabic.
Y, Hajeid, X and H came from the Greenacre area and it seems likely to me that all the others came from this same area. It was to a park in this area that the men in the van and those in the car went to for the purposes of committing the offences of which they were convicted. H and S1 pleaded guilty before trial.
I cannot be sure precisely when the plan that these eight men should sexually assault their two victims was hatched but the facts establish beyond reasonable doubt, in my opinion, that the plan had been agreed on before the van got to the park at Greenacre. I come to this conclusion because there was evidence in the trial, which was in no doubt that there was almost constant communication between the men in the two vehicles from the time they left Chatswood and the time they arrived at Greenacre. This communication was by mobile phone calls. Some of it was in English, but much of it was in Arabic.
In my opinion, the almost constant telephone communication, together with the fact that the men in the red car, as I shall recount, arrived at the park at Greenacre just after X had told Miss A that she would be bashed if she did not have oral sex with him, enables me to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt that the crimes committed by X, Y, Hajeid and their companions were carefully planned and well co-ordinated.
The two victims were in their last year at school and believed, perhaps foolishly, that the men, who were all young, would treat them well and give them some marijuana to smoke. In fact, both of them believed that the van would be going somewhere nearby to Chatswood and that they would be dropped to their homes after they smoked marijuana.
In fact, the van and the red car went South over the Harbour Bridge, then west onto Parramatta Road. The van stopped for a short while at a McDonald's store at Stanmore. Neither girl had expected they would be embarking on such a trip and both were surprised when they realised that the van was crossing the Harbour Bridge.
I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that neither of them entered the van for the purpose of having sex or believing that this was why they were being invited to go with these young men.
Neither of these young victims knew where Greenacre was and neither of them suspected that they were being taken there. Indeed, as I have already said, each was surprised to find that the van was going over the Harbour Bridge.
The van stopped at McDonald's at Stanmore and the men got out. Both young women could have left the van and Miss A did so, but Miss B stayed in the van, notwithstanding Miss A trying to get her out. Neither of them was exactly clear on where they were.
On the trip to McDonalds, X used a mobile phone to contact those in the red car and arranged with them to meet at McDonalds During this part of the journey, Miss B was with X and at one stage, she kissed him a couple of times. He asked her for oral sex on a number of occasions and she refused.
A male sitting behind Miss A kept touching her around her breasts and tried to put his hands down her pants. She resisted all these assaults.
When she got out at McDonalds, Miss A attempted to persuade Miss B to leave the van, but she would not do so. Miss
A, I am satisfied, wanted to leave these men at this stage but did not want to abandon Miss B and so she stayed with the van and the men in it.
These men then proposed to Miss A that she should engage in oral sex with them, but she refused to do so. A number of them became quite insistent and even angry, but she maintained her refusal.
I found in my reasons for sentence on 15th August 2002 that the evidence satisfied me beyond a reasonable doubt that
X, who was the eldest man in the group, was the dominant figure at all times in the white van and the one who made and received most of the mobile phone calls.
At the park, he was the person claiming to be in charge and acted as the dominant figure at all times.
I am satisfied that by this time, X and those with him, including H, had decided to force oral sex on both women when they got to Greenacre. I am also satisfied that at no time did anyone in this group of men tell either of the complainants where they were going.
On the way to the park, X , who was in the back of the van, pressed Miss A to have sex with him. She refused, but he kept pressing the point. She continued to refuse.
During this part of the journey another man was with Miss B and he pressed her to have oral sex with him. She refused to do so.
Eventually the van was driven to Northcote Park , Greenacre and all on board got out. By this time it was well after 11 p.m. The man who had been with Miss B in the second part of this trip, grabbed her by the neck and dragged her unwillingly to a spot behind a toilet block . He had her head in a headlock and she tried to get away from him. She was very scared. She saw X drag Miss A to another part of the park.
Meanwhile, X had Miss A by the hand. She went with him out of fear. He kept insisting that she have oral sex with him and she kept refusing. She could see that Miss B was being dragged to another part of the park. am satisfied that both girls were by this time in a state of emotional terror.
This state of terror in each was increased by what followed.
In the case of Miss A, X demanded oral sex repeatedly and she repeatedly refused.
They then had the following conversation:
X: "Just do it now before they come."
A " No, I don't want to.
X " if you don't do it, they will probably bash you for not doing anything. It will be in your best interests if you do it now before they come. I will tell them you don't do anything and they will leave you alone."
A "Why would they listen to you?
X "Well, I'm the oldest and they all respect me.
A" Okay, but I still don't want to do anything.
X " Just do it now and get it over and done with before they come."
At this time the red car in which Y, H and Hajeid were, with two other men, pulled up behind the white van and Miss A heard a number of male voices which were shouting and yelling.
X then forced oral sex on Miss A, even though she continued to say she did not want to do it.
When he finished, she stood up and walked away from where he was. The four men from the red vehicle came running towards her. One of them crash tackled her to the ground. While she was on the ground, some of the men started to kick her about her legs. When they stopped kicking her, she was pulled to her feet and one of the four men from the red car, picked her up on his shoulder and threw her into some bushes. She was screaming and crying at this stage.
Y, H and Hajeid all participated in these assaults on her. This episode of assault was the subject of the first item in the Schedule of offences which the offender H asked to be taken into account when I sentenced him in relation to the eighth count in the indictment. These assaults were violent and calculated to cause fear and alarm. It is clear beyond doubt, in my opinion, that the men concerned and X intended by these assaults to achieve a total physical domination of Miss A and to crush any resistance she might have had.
From this time, until he left the park, H joined with his co- accused and the other men present in the park in detaining Miss A for advantage and in detaining Miss B for advantage, in each case for himself, and six other males.
X then approached Miss A again. She was by this time sitting on a park seat. Before speaking to her, he motioned the other assailants from the red car to go away and they stood some distance away in a group, apparently obeying him.
The following conversation then occurred:
X. "I told you it would happen. I warned you what they would do.
A. You didn't tell me they were going to get violent and tackle me.
X. Yeah, well if you don't do what they want to do, that's what they do. So, do it now. I'll go over and tell them you don't do anything and they will leave you alone. Do you want to get bashed or not?
A. No."
He then had oral sex with her for the second time. He ejaculated in her mouth and she spat out the semen on the ground.
When she did this, X walked away and the four men, who included Y, H and Hajeid approached her and all stood around her, demanding "head jobs". After further threats of violence from these men, she had non consensual oral sex with a man described by her as 'the fat male', ie, H. He said to her:" There's no point crying, it won't get you anywhere."
The male described by her as the "WRX male", then said, " Listen guys, I'm the one with the WRX, I'm next." He then demanded oral sex or her would bash her, he pulled down his pants and had non- consensual oral sex with her.
H then came running back and again demanded oral sex, saying he would bash her if he didn't get it, but he was pushed away by another man who also forced non consensual oral sex on her, after putting a condom on his penis.
During this sexual assault, this man yelled out " She's not doing it right. This Chick's shit at head jobs".
H assaulted her sexually again, after uttering further threats and Y also sexually assaulted her, after threatening to bash her. Both of these sexual assaults were oral.
Following this, a group of men ran over to her. She could not identify them. They were not from the red car. One of them said:
"Your friend told us you had AIDS or herpes or hepatitis or something. Is it true?
Miss A said:" No. I don't. I don't think my friend would have said that because I don't."
The man then said:" I swear to God, if you're lying, we'll get you."
This last exchange in itself indicates the type of person involved in these incidents.
Following this, she saw that the red car had arrived and that the four occupants were in the park. These four men then surrounded her and demanded oral sex. She inquired about her friend and caught a glimpse of her near some bushes. One of the men assaulted her, by snatching a necklace from her neck and breaking it. Hajeid, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind the toilet block. She struggled and protested. A conversation ensued:
"Hajeid. Give me a head job.
Miss B. No. I want to go home.
Hajeid. I'll take you home after you give me a head job.
Miss B . No."
She then tried to walk away and was assaulted by another male, the man who had first had non consensual oral sex with her.
Hajeid then grabbed her, forced her behind the toilet block, onto her knees and holding her head, forced his penis into her mouth. He ejaculated into her mouth and she spat the semen onto the ground.
Following this, Hajeid, H, Y and the other men from the red car got into it and left the park.
However, the attacks on the two victims continued. It is not necessary for the purposes of the present proceedings that I should again set them out in detail.
Following these terrible events, X and his companions then abandoned these two helpless victims, late at night, in a park in Greenacre. They had no phones, no money, did not know where they were. They were distraught, crying and feeling the effects of these repeated rapes and assaults. They were terrified.
Fortunately, a man and his wife were returning home in a car at the time, saw them and rescued them.
The evidence at the trial established that each of the accused and some others had regular mobile phone contact with one another. I have set out earlier how these phones were used to co-ordinate the arrival of the red car just as X was prophesying what would happen to Miss A if she did not co-operate with him.
These crimes are very serious crimes. Sexual intercourse without consent is always a serious crime. It goes without saying that a woman is always entitled to refuse to engage in sexual intercourse. Consent can be refused at any time, even if previously, the woman may have indicated a willingness to engage in sexual activity of some kind. There is evidence of some kissing and cuddling engaged in by Miss B, but it is clear beyond doubt that each of Miss A and Miss B at all stages made it plain they would not engage in any form of sexual intercourse.
What makes the sexual assault offences in this case very serious, in my opinion, is that they were all committed in company of the assailant and of seven other men. This was the aggravating feature charged and proved.
Additionally, each sexual assault offence charged against H and his companions, each assault offence and each offence of kidnapping was a joint criminal enterprise between him and those with him.
However, H was charged with and pleaded guilty to fewer offences than those proved at trial against X, Y and Hajeid. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of detaining for advantage, two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent against Miss A, and one count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent against Miss B. He has asked that I take two charges of assault into account when I sentence him in relation to Count 8 on the indictment, that being the count in respect of his actual act of sexual intercourse with Miss A. The other counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent related to offences actually committed by others in the group, for which he was liable as a Principal in the second degree.
Y and Hajeid were convicted of seven counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, whilse X was convicted of nine counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, three of them being for actual acts committed by him.
Of course, it must not be forgotten that H has also pleaded guilty to one offence of aggravated sexual assault against Miss C and a count of detaining Miss C and he also faces sentence for offences of aggravated indecent assault, acts of indecency, assaults and detention in relation to Miss E. In an over all sense, he has been involved in more incidents than Chami or Hajeid, but less than X. As I have just mentioned, when it comes to sentence for the offences against Miss A and Miss B, he must receive less than that given to X and Hajeid because of this and also because of the other factors of an early plea of guilty, remorse , his intellectual disability and his prospects of rehabilitation. When it comes to the offences against Miss C, I consider his criminality is less than that of Chami or X and his sentences for those offences will reflect that and the other factors of an early plea of guilty, remorse , his intellectual disability and his prospects of rehabilitation.
However, when it comes to sentence for the offences against Miss E, his sentence must be appropriately severe.
3. Bankstown 30th August 2000
Facts:
On 30th August 2000, Miss C was raped by 14 men in a series of orgiastic attacks. The first such rapes occurred in toilets in Marion Street Bankstown. Here she was sexually assaulted by four men, one of them assaulting her twice.
She was then passed over to another group. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that this group, in a black car, had been summoned to the scene by mobile phone messages passed on by the first group of attackers. The men in this car talked with some of the attackers from the toilets and one of those attackers joined them.
There were three men in this second group, H, who was . one of them, had been with the group which sexually assaulted her in the carpark toilets, but he had not assaulted her there. In fact, he behaved in a somewhat irrational way, running in and out of the toilets and shouting out loudly at one of the assailants of Miss C.
She eventually found herself on her own and when she left the toilets, she was induced by a dishonest woman, who stole her money, to accompany her to a black car nearby. H was in this car and he and some other men nearby promised they would take her home. This was a ruse to get her into the car.
She was then taken by this car to a carpark near the Bankstown Trotting Club. There, H got out of the car with her and despite her protests, forced oral sex on her in a shed at the carpark. He is a powerfully built man, she is very slightly built and I have no doubt at all that she submitted to this out of fear for her life. Despite her protests, she was vaginally raped once by another man in this car to whom Miss C was given by H and orally raped as well by one of the men in the car. H was not actually present when these rapes occurred, but I am certain he knew that they would occur. H was in mobile phone contact with X at this time and I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that between them arrangements were made for the holding of Miss C until X, Chami, Y and another man, known only as Nike Sam, arrived.
When the men who were with H in the black car finished with Miss C , a two door red sedan driven by Chami, and with X, another man known only as Nike Sam and Y, as his passengers pulled up in the carpark near the Bankstown Trotting Club. Y was the front seat passenger.
The complainant saw the occupants of the black car go over to the red car and talk to its occupants. This enables me to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the men in the black car, including H told the men in the red car of the rapes which had so far occurred.
If there were any doubt about this matter, in his record of interview, Chami, who was in the red car, claimed ( page 2) " Well, I copped a phone call from X, he told me there's a slut at Bankstown Trotting Club".
Thereafter, Miss C was raped by the men in the red car and another group of men in another black car. This last group included X1, the brother of X. I set out the details of these events in my reasons for sentence concerning X.
Y,X and Hajeid were all involved in the attacks on 10th August 2000 on Miss A and Miss B. X and his brother, X1 were involved in similar attacks on Miss D on 12th August 2000.
On 14 June, 2002, I sentenced Hajeid for his part in these attacks on Miss A and Miss B.
In that matter, I imposed sentences of 15 years imprisonment for each offence of non consensual sexual intercourse and a sentence of 5 years imprisonment for each offence of detaining for advantage.
I cumulated some sentences and made some concurrent, with the result that I imposed a head sentence on Hajeid of 23 years and a non parole period of 15 years.
On 9th August 2002, I sentenced Chami for an offence of detention for advantage, for which I imposed a sentence of 7 years imprisonment and sexual intercourse without consent in circumstances of aggravation, for which I imposed a sentence of 15 years. I partly cumulated these sentences and imposed a total head sentence of 18 years with a non parole period of 10 years and 6 months.
On 15th August, 2002, I sentenced X for his part in the events on 10th , 12th and 30th August 2002 and I imposed a head sentence of 55 years and a non parole period of close to 40 years.
The prisoner, H, participated in the gang rapes on 10th, and 30th August 2000 as well as the events on 4th August 2000. As I have earlier observed, what occurred on 30th August was a series of gang rapes on that night
As I have earlier remarked, the crimes on 10th , 12th and 30th August 2000 were carefully planned and co-ordinated.
The degree of planning and co-ordination by use of mobile phones distinguishes these crimes from other cases of gang rape which have been reported from time to time, which are often, if not usually, perpetrated by intoxicated men, who have seized an opportunity which has been presented to them. It is also clear to me that what H participated in on 4th August was a series of violent and disgusting acts which were a prelude to other sexual assaults which clearly were being organised as he and the others were assaulting Miss E.
Each crime was callous, violent, sordid and degrading.
Moreover, the crimes were not something which happened on the spur of the moment and none of the assailants were in any way affected by alcohol or drugs.
The crimes were planned and premeditated. In each instance they involved gang activity and the selection of a helpless young female victim.
In my opinion, the evidence at the three trials establishes beyond reasonable doubt that X was the leader of the gang on all occasions and he must be regarded as the worst of all the offenders. He is a menace to society.
He has declined to give any explanation of the reasons for these attacks and refuses to express any remorse or contrition.
Chami and Hajeid were guilty of significant crimes, but when I imposed sentences on them, I imposed lesser sentences because their criminal activities, though significant, were not as serious as the total criminal behaviour of X. I regard H as being entitled to some leniency for reasons I have already mentioned.
Submissions on sentence
In the case of H, a considerable amount of material was presented concerning his background, his mental state, his remorse and his prospects for rehabilitation. None of the other offenders so far sentenced presented any meaningful material at all, though Chami did present some information about his background, his previous good character and he
evinced some slight expressions of remorse.
X and Hajeid defiantly denied their guilt. X went further by evincing contempt for the victims and the Court.
Because I have this material, it is possible for me to consider imposing sentences of a lesser nature than those imposed on the others and in giving consideration to H's prospects of rehabilitation, to decide if that should result in a longer than usual period on parole.
Background of the offender.
He was born on 21st April 1983 and is the youngest of eight children. His parents came from Lebanon. His mother was married at the age of eleven years and his eldest brother, who is 35 years old is only 12 years younger than his mother. With the exception of his eldest brother, his brothers and sisters all suffer from physical or mental disabilities. One of his sisters is both mentally and physically extremely disabled, requiring her mother's full time care.
He has been assessed by competent psychologists as being mildly retarded, with an IQ of 67, which puts him in the lowest 1% of the population.
A psychosexual assessment of him reveals that there is at present a moderate risk of him re-offending.
During his young and teenage years, he would fly into sudden explosions of anger, damaging furniture and punching walls. His eldest brother told me that he would not seem to comprehend at times what it was that he was doing.
He was troublesome at school, but the family for reasons which I think were related to poverty, could not take him to recommended medical and psychological resources.
Although his brother warned him about his associates, he ignored the warnings and in his teenage years began to hang out with undesirable people of his own age. Because of his intellectual difficulties he went to a special school instead of the usual high school and left when he was about 14 years old. He has difficulty in reading and arithmetic and finds learning difficult. However, in the controlled environment of Kariong Juvenile Detention Centre, he has done a number of courses successfully.
A question has arisen as to whether he is a paranoid schizophrenic. Dr Wade,who saw him in July, considers that he has symptoms suggestive of this and has prescribed treatment. These symptoms include hallucinations involving the hearing of voices. Dr Westmore in earlier reports did not feel he was suffering from any sort of mental illness. At present, according to reports of Kariong staff, he isolates himself from other inmates.
His family clearly love him and his father and eldest brother attend court. The family have taken steps to bring it to his attention that they disapprove of his conduct, but at the same time, they want to encourage him to rehabilitate.
Remorse or contrition.
He has expressed remorse and concern about the effect of his actions on the girls who were his victims. He is apparently quite severely affected by his realisation of the enormity of his offences. So far, he is the only offender to have expressed any concern for these girls and the only one to have clearly expressed any remorse. I am prepared to accept that his feelings of remorse and for the victims are genuine.
His future life in custody.
Whilst there are no programmes in Juvenile Detention Centres for the intellectually impaired, there are sex offender programmes and other useful programmes.
The Department of Corrective Services at present do not have sufficient beds for intellectually disabled prisoners, but will have more in two years time. In my view, his intellectual and mental problems are of such severity that he should not be housed in the main part of an adult prison. I recommend to that Department that he be placed in a unit
for intellectually disabled prisoners when he is admitted into the prison system.
In the meantime, I direct that such he serve his sentence in a detention centre until he reaches the age of 21 years. I make this order because I am satisfied there are special circumstances in his case, namely his mental and intellectual disabilities, which cannot be catered for in an adult prison for at least two years.
Victim Impact Statement
Each of the victims has submitted victim impact statements. I have considered each one carefully. Clearly each victim has suffered greatly and will continue to suffer. The sentences which I impose will take that into account.
I would like to commend each of the complainants for their courage and strength in these proceedings. The people of this State owe them a great debt. If they had not been prepared to come forward and to persist this offender and other members of this dangerous group of offenders could not have been brought to justice.
General legal considerations
I have set out earlier in this judgment my views on the seriousness of the offences and the features that distinguish H from X, Hajeid and Chami. He has pleaded guilty at a very early stage and is entitled to a discount of 25% of each sentence because of this. Early pleas of guilty should always be encouraged as they facilitate the course of justice, they avoid the need for long, harrowing and expensive trials and in some cases at least, this being one, they indicate remorse on the part of the offender.
He was clearly responsible for his own actions and is liable to punishment accordingly, but it remains true that he is intellectually and possibly mentally disabled. In the circumstances, the principles of general and specific deterrence are of less significance than they would be if he were intellectually and mentally normal.
He has shown some insight into his problems and has engaged in the programmes offered to him in Kariong. There is a reasonable prospect of rehabilitation if he is given the benefit of programmes designed for the intellectually and mentally disabled.
Therefore, I intend to ensure that whilst he receives quite a severe sentence, he will have a longer than usual non parole period.
Sentence
The prisoner has been in custody since 22nd November 2001. He also spent a further earlier period of custody of 35 days . I propose to take those periods into account.
4th August 2000 – on the train at Punchbowl
The maximum sentences for count 1, committing an act of indecency, and count 2, common assault, is 2 years imprisonment. I intend after applying the discount of 25% to sentence him to 6 months imprisonment on each of those counts.
The offence of aggravated indecent assault carries a maximum sentence of 7 years. The circumstances of this offence make it an offence of the worst type. I therefore intend to give him the maximum sentence less a discount of 25% for the plea of guilty, ie a sentence of 5 years and 3 months.
In relation to count 4, a charge of detention, I consider this is an offence, which when considered with the offences in the Schedule to Form 1, is an offence which is comparable to the offence of detention committed by Chami against Miss C. Therefore, after applying the discount of 25%, I will impose on him a sentence of 5 years and 3 months. Northcote Park – 10th August 2000.
Hajeid received sentences of 15 years imprisonment on each count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, 5 years for each offence of detention for advantage and 2 years for each assault.
Each offence he committed was of a comparable nature to that of Hajeid, but because of the discount of 25 %, he will receive a sentence of 11 years and 3 months for each offence of aggravated sexual assault, 3 years and 9 months for each offence of detention for advantage and 1 year and 6 months for each assault. When imposing sentence for the offence of aggravated sexual assault actually committed by him ( count 8 ) I have taken into account the matters in the Form one schedule, but I consider that the appropriate sentence is still 11 years and 3 months imprisonment.
Bankstown – 30th August 2000 Chami received 15 years for an offence of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and 7 years for detention for advantage. However, the detention by Chami was worse than that effected by H, since Chami made threats with a weapon and made it possible for X and another man to carry out a series of sexual assaults against Miss C in his car as he was driving.
I consider that the sentences for these offences should be the same as for similar offences committed by him against Miss A and Miss B, ie 11 years and 3 months for aggravated sexual assault and 3 years and 9 months for detention for advantage
I turn then to the particular offences and the particular sentences. I am going to detail the sentence. I make it plain that but for the principle of totality these sentences would in total be much longer. The principle of totality requires that having considered all the individual sentences, I look at the effect of all of them. I try to work out the criminality involved as a total matter and I then impose a sentence which is consonant with that criminality. The principle of totality means that particular individual sentences in a total sentence could receive a lesser sentence than if they were imposed on a sole offender, one for one offence. If that were not so and I just cumulated every sentence,the offender would get a sentence that was utterly unrealistic.
The sentences which I impose are set out hereunder. They result in the offender receiving a head sentence of 25 years and a non parole period of 15 years, reflecting the very special circumstances of his remorse, youth, intellectual and mental state and his real prospects of rehabilitation. To ensure that he receives a non parole period of 15 years,
the non parole period on his last sentence is very much shortened. I have taken into account the 35 days he served by reducing his final release date by that number of days.
Counts 1 and 2. I sentence the offender to 6 months imprisonment on each count, such sentences to be concurrent with one another and with the sentence for count 3.
Each sentence will commence on 22nd November 2000 and will conclude on 21 May 2001.
Count 3. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 5 years and 3 months. The sentence will commence on 22 November 2000 and will conclude on 21 February 2006.
Count 4. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 5 years and 3 months. That sentence will commence on 21st August 2001 and will conclude on 20th November 2006
Count 5. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 3 years and 9 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with sentences for counts 7 and 8. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th May 2008.
Count 6. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 9. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 21st November 2021. There will be a non parole period of 4 years, which will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 20th August 2014.
Count 7. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence will be served concurrently with sentences for counts 5 and 8. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th November 2016. There will be a non parole period of 6 years to commence on 21st August 2004 and to conclude on 20th August 2010.
Count 8. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence will be served concurrently with sentences for counts 5 and 7 and partly cumulatively on count 4. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th November 2015. There will be a non parole period of 6 years to commence on 21st August 2004 and to conclude on 20th August 2010.
Count 9. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 6 and partly cumulatively on the sentence for count 8. . The sentence will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 21st November 2021. There will be a non parole period of 4 years, which will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 20th August 2014.
Count 10. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 3 years and 9 months as a fixed term. The sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 11. The sentence is commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude on 20th May 2018.
Count 11.
I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 10 and partly cumulatively on the sentence for count 9. The sentence is to commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude, having regard to an additional 35 days already served, on 15th October 2025. Because of the very special circumstances of the case and to ensure that the offender may be released to parole 15 years after commencing his sentence, I specify a non parole period that is to commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude on 15th October 2015 on which date the prisoner is to be released on parole. He is then to submit to supervision by the Probation and Parole Service for the remainder of his term of imprisonment or until that Service releases him from further parole obligations. He is to be released from imprisonment finally on 15th October 2025.
I recommend that the Department of Corrective Services permit him to serve his sentence in a Unit for Developmentally delayed prisoners. I direct that he serve his sentence until the age of 21 years in a Juvenile institution.
Other Matters – suppression of his name.
I have given very special consideration to the lifting of the suppression order on the name of the offender and in particular to the provisions of section 11 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.
Subsection 4B of that Section permits me to lift the suppression order at this point as I have sentenced the offender.
However, I am prohibited by subsection 4C from taking this step unless I am satisfied that to do so is in the interests of justice and that the prejudice to the person, ie the offender himself, arising from the publication or broadcasting of his name does not outweigh those interests. The burden of establishing the matters referred to under subsection 4 C lies on the Crown.
The Crown has submitted that it is in the interests of justice that the suppression order be lifted, but it cannot point to any particular matter to justify this submission other than the fact that it is generally considered to be in the public interest that all proceedings in a criminal court be conducted in public.
Whilst I agree that in general that is the position, I am of the opinion that in this case, where the offender is a person who has intellectual and mental disabilities, it is not in the interests of justice that the suppression order be lifted. Further, I consider that his special problems are such that the broadcasting or publishing of his name would cause him such prejudice that I could not be satisfied that this prejudice did not outweigh the interests of maintaining the suppression order.
The suppression order will remain.
The offender may be removed.
By Candace Sutton
SMH
August 18 2002
* Australia's Finest, Margaret Cunneen,what this "Aussie Sheila" put up with,whilst prosecuting the Skaf Muslim Gang Rapists would have tested the best of Australia's Aussie Blokes ,this Lady, is without doubt one of Australia's Finest and should be named as an Australian National Treasure.
We will never know the exact numbers of "Aussie Pigs and Sluts" Gang Raped by "Pious Muslim Rape Gang's" Labor VOTE People,in NSW, conservatively put by NSW Police in excess of 100 in 1999/2000, Australian Wive's,Mothers and their daughters owe this woman and Judge Michael Finnane a debt of gratitude for ignoring the then state Labor Government's ideology of "Multiculturalism and all Cultures are equal" Policy and prosecuting the accused Muslim Gang Rapist's under NSW Judeo / Christian AUSTRALIAN Law .
She has prosecuted some of the nation's worst paedophiles, nailed a hit man, brought to justice sex abusing priests and looked after the cases of dozens of rape victims.
She is motherly to the victims as she prepares for a trial, but when it comes to hammering home her case, Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen can be as hard as nails.
And while her prosecution work is by its nature very personal, Ms Cunneen had never heard anything quite like the sort of abuse being hurled about in the courtroom as she cross-examined one of the perpetrators in the recent landmark rape case.
It is not every day that a rapist's relative in open court will call a barrister, who is herself a mother of three, a "slut".
But there it was, the woman in the veil - under Islam, meant to symbolise honour, respect and dignity - yelling out advice in Arabic to her son as he answered Ms Cunneen's questions in the witness box: "Sharmoota, give it to the sharmoota."
It's not exactly water off a duck's back for Ms Cunneen, who returns home from days in court to her three young sons who are around the same age as the boys who fell victim to convicted pedophile Robert "Dolly" Dunn.
It was Ms Cunneen who, during her prosecution of the schoolteacher, successfully argued that the shocking video of Dunn's sexual exploits with young males be shown to the jury.
It was a move which drew criticism from some of her peers, disdainful of what they call "kiddie sex cases", but which helped secure the conviction of Dunn, who was jailed in December 2001 for 30 years.
For what some might see as grisly or even depressing work, Ms Cunneen seems to have a vocation.
After the 55-year benchmark sentence by Judge Michael Finnane last week, Ms Cunneen remarked that "these are difficult cases to prosecute and require a lot of energy to convey the evidence to the jury.
"This is the perfect case to see how well the systems of government, right from the time police began interviewing the girls, are co-ordinated."
When approached for comment about the case, Ms Cunneen declined.
But it is clear that the choice of Ms Cunneen for the job of prosecuting the four gang rape trials, which began in November last year and ended last week, was a good one.
Arguably, Ms Cunneen's successful prosecution of "X" has changed the face of sex crimes trials in Australia forever.
Reporters who have covered the trial - and colleagues who have followed her 25-year career - say her grit and resilience, as well as her empathy with the victims, ensured its success.
And Ms Cunneen's career seems to have prepared her perfectly for the task.
When she left school in 1976, MsCunneen could not afford to study full-time and worked as a law clerk in the NSW Attorney-General's office to put herself through the University of Technology.
After graduating, before she did her Masters part-time at Sydney University, she worked for the Public Service Board as a prosecutor, often on cases in which Department of Community Services employees had abused children.
She joined the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the age of 27 as the solicitor in charge of the Child Sexual Assault Unit and earned a reputation as a prosecutor with a certain drive to assist victims of sexual violence, "to give them a voice", a colleague of Ms Cunneen's said.
"She is very good at explaining the dynamics of the situation of a victim to juries," the colleague said.
"She gets very close to the victims and understands them very well. Some of them stay in touch for years afterwards."
Twelve years ago, Ms Cunneen was appointed as a Crown Prosecutor and the cases thrown her way by the DPP, Nicholas Cowdery, QC, and his predecessor Reg Blanch, have a theme.
Somewhere in there, Ms Cunneen had three sons, now aged between 10 and 14 years.
A woman judicial officer, who has known Ms Cunneen since they were teenage girls, says she feels strongly the importance of changing the landscape in rape cases "from where it was 20 years ago when girls were 'asking for it' and were questioned about their sex lives and the clothes they wore 'to the rape'."
A stylish woman with a ready laugh and a gregarious nature, Ms Cunneen drinks beer and takes it by the schooner, but usually is seen rushing home from Sydney's Downing Centre to see her boys.
In a mostly man's world, where some barristers consider prosecuting as being on the wrong side of the bar table, Ms Cunneen has one of the most offensive case loads of any legal mind in the country.
She has prosecuted pedophiles Phillip Bell and Colin Fisk, the St Gerard Majella priests who preyed on their novices, three young Muslim men who raped a woman during a home invasion, the Campsie serial rapist Quoc Vinh "Vincent"
To and cross-examined Samantha Knight's murderer, Michael Guider, when he was on trial for having photographs of underage girls.
Ms Cunneen is said to live and breathe her cases, but possesses enormous energy and has a black belt in tae kwon do.
Theoretically, she could pole axe with one kick anyone who called her a "sharmoota".
Last week, in civvies, without a flick of her horsehair wig, Ms Cunneen did just that.
* Picture added by ANV at time of posting this article 231113
Full transcript of rape sentencing.
24aug02
THE DISTRICT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
Judge Michael John Finnane QC
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2002
01/11/0877
Regina v H.
SENTENCE
HIS HONOUR:
X was the leader of a brutal gang of rapists, who on three occasions, raped four young women. His activities and those of his gang spread terror in Sydney in August 2000, just before the commencement of the Olympic Games.
The gang consisted of varying numbers of men, up to about fourteen. Not all of them have been caught. Those who have been caught and brought to justice were either identified by the victims or pleaded guilty because evidence had been found to connect them with the offences.
The activities of the gang were organised by the use of mobile phones and there was a considerable degree of planning and co-ordination involved in each set of attacks.
As is common with rapists, the gang members treated each of their victims with callous indifference and considerable cruelty.
H was a member of this gang and in common with X, Y, Chami, Hajeid, X1, Z, M and M1 participated in rape episodes in which each of these offenders was involved. He participated in the rapes of Miss A and Miss B on 10th August 2000 and was one of the 14 rapists to attack Miss C on 30th August 2000.
Apart from his participation in those two episodes, he with three other males detained Miss E on a train, indecently assaulted her, committed acts of indecency towards her and committed a series of common assaults. She was 14 years old.
The courts must attempt to protect society from the possibility that those who have been caught will engage in this type of activity again and the sentences which I impose have as their principal aim, the protection of society, but, as my reasons will indicate, I also give weight to evidence that H is remorseful, that he can be rehabilitated and that he has some intellectual disability. The combination of these factors, together with the fact that he has pleaded guilty from an early stage, has resulted in my imposition of sentences which separately and in total are less than the sentences imposed on X and Hajeid who expressed no remorse, called no evidence and offered no reason for me to exercise leniency in any way.
Sentencing Principles
The principles upon which I must act in sentencing this offender are laid down by Statute and in case law. The statutory provisions are are now expressed in Section 21A of the Crimes( Sentencing Procedure) Act,1999. This section came into force only on 15 April 2002 and applies only to proceedings which commenced after that date. All
the proceedings against H had commenced before this date, but it is convenient to set out the provisions of the Act, because the principles have in practice been applied for many years.
Crimes ( Sentencing Procedure) Act,1999
Section 21A. General sentencing principles
(1) In determining the sentence to be imposed on an offender, a court must impose a sentence of a severity that is appropriate in all the circumstances of the case.
(2) For that purpose, the court must take into account such of the following matters as are relevant and known to the court:
(a) the nature and circumstances of the case,
(b) if the offence forms part of a course of conduct consisting of a series of criminal acts---that course of conduct,
(c) the personal circumstances of any victim of the offence, including:
(i) the age of the victim (particularly if the victim is very old or very young), and
(ii) any physical or mental disability of the victim, and
(iii) any vulnerability of the victim arising because of the nature of the victim's occupation,
(d) any injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence,
(e) the degree to which the offender has shown contrition for the offence:
(i) by taking action to make reparation for any injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence, or
(ii) in any other manner,
(f) the need to deter the offender or other persons from committing an offence of the same or a similar character,
(g) the need to protect the community from the offender,
(h) the need to ensure that the offender is adequately punished for the offence,
i) the character, antecedents, cultural background, age, means and physical or mental condition of the offender,
(j) the prospect of rehabilitation of the offender.
(3) In addition, in determining whether a sentence under Division 2 or 3 of Part 2 is appropriate, the court must have regard to the nature and severity of the conditions that may be imposed on, or may apply to, the offender under that sentence.
(4) The matters to be taken into account by a court under this section are in addition to any other matters that are required or permitted to be taken into account by the court under this Act or any other law.
(5) This section does not apply to the determination of a sentence if proceedings (other than committal proceedings) for the offence were commenced in a court before the commencement of this section.
. I have paid particular regard to the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal in Regina v AEM and others.([2002]
CCA 58 ).
In my opinion, that decision is important because it gives guidance on the correct principles to apply in sentencing for offences of sexual intercourse without consent in circumstances of aggravation, where the aggravation alleged is that the offence was committed in company, where the offenders were young and the victims were young.
There are, of course, significant factual differences between the facts of that case and the facts of these three cases. However, each of the accused in Regina v AEM and others, pleaded guilty well before trial, just as H has done and the sentences imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal were imposed on that basis. The case came before the
Court of Criminal Appeal as a Crown Appeal and the Court made it plain that although it increased the sentences significantly, the principle of Double Jeopardy meant that the sentences it imposed were the least that could properly have been imposed by the sentencing judge (See Judgment paras 144 and 145).
Regina v AEM and others, also involved threats to kill, the use of a knife to enforce compliance and forcible vaginal sex against one victim who was menstruating at the time.
The Court of Criminal Appeal also made it clear that these were adult offences and the offenders deserved to be sentenced on that basis. Clearly, a trial judge sentencing should give serious consideration to imposing sentences which are more severe in respect of such offences than the sentences imposed by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
4th August 2000 – a train going to Punchbowl.
Miss E who was 14 years old was returning to Punchbowl by train from the city where she had been doing some part time work. She was still a schoolgirl. It was probably about 8.20pm when four males approached her. The offender, H, took the leading role in what happened.
One of them called her by her first name, probably because he attended the same school, but she did not know any of them.
One of them asked her: " Do you suck?". Being an assertive young woman, she told him in no uncertain terms what shethought.
H sat beside her, put his arm around her in a rough fashion and placed his right hand on her thigh. He tried to move this up to her groin area and he then said:
" Will you fuck me? Come on, you'll like it. It' s really big"
She pulled his hand from her thigh and tried to remove his other arm. The moving of his hand up her thigh constitutes the form 1 offence of aggravated indecent assault.
He then put his face close to hers and said : " You're a slut, will you come out with me?" and made various other unpleasant remarks.
She pushed him away, but he and the others persisted in this very unpleasant and harassing conduct.
In the course of this, she was punched twice and threatened her with violence. She also was grabbed around the neck by one of this gang who put a condom in her face and said: " come for a fuck." This assault was another form 1 offence and the punching was another form one offence.
H pulled down his pants, exposed his penis. He then put a condom on it and proceeded to masturbate in front of her, although she turned her head away. This was count one on the indictment, the committing of an act of indecency.
Miss E then said to H :" you wonder why people don't like the Lebanese". He then slapped her. This is count two on the indictment, a charge of common assault.
The other males laughed when H slapped her. H got a call on his mobile phone and said to the caller in English:" I've got a slut with me, bro, come to Punchbowl". Having regard to the other evidence to which I have referred, and to evidence given in the trials relating to offences against Misses A,B and C that H and X were frequent callers to one another, it seems likely to me that he was in fact talking to X. He certainly was not talking to any of his brothers, who are completely innocent men. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he and the caller were planning to abduct Miss E for the purposes of rape by H and other men.
H then pushed his crutch up to her face and said "come for a fuck." She was unable to push him away. This is the subject of a Form one offence of committing an act of indecency. He then demanded that she give him a "head job" and told her that she would have to give a head job to the others too. They all laughed.
He then placed his arm around her waist and began rubbing her legs before touching her on the vagina outside her clothes. This was the subject of count 3 , aggravated indecent assault ( aggravated , because she was under the age of 16 years.)
H and the others kept her under their close control, which is the subject of count 4 of detaining her for advantage.
They kept hold of her as they were getting out of the train at Punchbowl. As they were alighting, H, who had hold of her, pointed out a man in the distance and said: my friend wants a head job." She then broke free, ran up the stairs, got to her home and told her mother what had happened. Mother and daughter then ran back towards the station. H and the others were still there and someone in the group said loudly and contemptuously, :" Here comes the slut's mother."
These offences were very serious. H and the others were prepared to attack a 14 year old innocent and helpless victim on a public train, assault her, insult her, sexually molest her and kidnap her, obviously intending to do worse after they got off the train.
H and the others were bullies, cowards, and acted in a contemptible and mean way. These crimes warrant stern punishment. A message must go out to any like minded individuals, no matter what their age, that all persons are entitled to travel in public transport with the protection of their safety guaranteed by law. If anyone should take it on himself to harm a fellow traveller, he should expect to receive a heavy sentence for doing so. Those doing this as a prelude to gang rape should expect very severe sentences.
Northcote Park Greenacre 10 August 2000.
Miss A and Miss B were together at the Mall at Chatswood. It was a Thursday night and both of them had been at the shopping centre, browsing around. Eight men, of whom X was one, and which included Y, Hajeid, H and another man to be known hereafter as S1, approached them and persuaded them to accompany them in two cars.
Miss B was quite keen to go, but Miss A went only because she felt she should accompany her friend.
Both got into a white van, which contained four of the men. The other four men got into a red car. Y, H and Hajeid were passengers in the red car.
The white van had no seats in the back and it was to this area that Miss A and Miss B went. X introduced himself to them as Adam and claimed he was 22 years old.
All the men, being of Lebanese origin, spoke Arabic and at various times during the night, the men in each car communicated with one another in that language, using mobile phones. Neither of the victims understood Arabic.
Y, Hajeid, X and H came from the Greenacre area and it seems likely to me that all the others came from this same area. It was to a park in this area that the men in the van and those in the car went to for the purposes of committing the offences of which they were convicted. H and S1 pleaded guilty before trial.
I cannot be sure precisely when the plan that these eight men should sexually assault their two victims was hatched but the facts establish beyond reasonable doubt, in my opinion, that the plan had been agreed on before the van got to the park at Greenacre. I come to this conclusion because there was evidence in the trial, which was in no doubt that there was almost constant communication between the men in the two vehicles from the time they left Chatswood and the time they arrived at Greenacre. This communication was by mobile phone calls. Some of it was in English, but much of it was in Arabic.
In my opinion, the almost constant telephone communication, together with the fact that the men in the red car, as I shall recount, arrived at the park at Greenacre just after X had told Miss A that she would be bashed if she did not have oral sex with him, enables me to conclude, beyond reasonable doubt that the crimes committed by X, Y, Hajeid and their companions were carefully planned and well co-ordinated.
The two victims were in their last year at school and believed, perhaps foolishly, that the men, who were all young, would treat them well and give them some marijuana to smoke. In fact, both of them believed that the van would be going somewhere nearby to Chatswood and that they would be dropped to their homes after they smoked marijuana.
In fact, the van and the red car went South over the Harbour Bridge, then west onto Parramatta Road. The van stopped for a short while at a McDonald's store at Stanmore. Neither girl had expected they would be embarking on such a trip and both were surprised when they realised that the van was crossing the Harbour Bridge.
I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that neither of them entered the van for the purpose of having sex or believing that this was why they were being invited to go with these young men.
Neither of these young victims knew where Greenacre was and neither of them suspected that they were being taken there. Indeed, as I have already said, each was surprised to find that the van was going over the Harbour Bridge.
The van stopped at McDonald's at Stanmore and the men got out. Both young women could have left the van and Miss A did so, but Miss B stayed in the van, notwithstanding Miss A trying to get her out. Neither of them was exactly clear on where they were.
On the trip to McDonalds, X used a mobile phone to contact those in the red car and arranged with them to meet at McDonalds During this part of the journey, Miss B was with X and at one stage, she kissed him a couple of times. He asked her for oral sex on a number of occasions and she refused.
A male sitting behind Miss A kept touching her around her breasts and tried to put his hands down her pants. She resisted all these assaults.
When she got out at McDonalds, Miss A attempted to persuade Miss B to leave the van, but she would not do so. Miss
A, I am satisfied, wanted to leave these men at this stage but did not want to abandon Miss B and so she stayed with the van and the men in it.
These men then proposed to Miss A that she should engage in oral sex with them, but she refused to do so. A number of them became quite insistent and even angry, but she maintained her refusal.
I found in my reasons for sentence on 15th August 2002 that the evidence satisfied me beyond a reasonable doubt that
X, who was the eldest man in the group, was the dominant figure at all times in the white van and the one who made and received most of the mobile phone calls.
At the park, he was the person claiming to be in charge and acted as the dominant figure at all times.
I am satisfied that by this time, X and those with him, including H, had decided to force oral sex on both women when they got to Greenacre. I am also satisfied that at no time did anyone in this group of men tell either of the complainants where they were going.
On the way to the park, X , who was in the back of the van, pressed Miss A to have sex with him. She refused, but he kept pressing the point. She continued to refuse.
During this part of the journey another man was with Miss B and he pressed her to have oral sex with him. She refused to do so.
Eventually the van was driven to Northcote Park , Greenacre and all on board got out. By this time it was well after 11 p.m. The man who had been with Miss B in the second part of this trip, grabbed her by the neck and dragged her unwillingly to a spot behind a toilet block . He had her head in a headlock and she tried to get away from him. She was very scared. She saw X drag Miss A to another part of the park.
Meanwhile, X had Miss A by the hand. She went with him out of fear. He kept insisting that she have oral sex with him and she kept refusing. She could see that Miss B was being dragged to another part of the park. am satisfied that both girls were by this time in a state of emotional terror.
This state of terror in each was increased by what followed.
In the case of Miss A, X demanded oral sex repeatedly and she repeatedly refused.
They then had the following conversation:
X: "Just do it now before they come."
A " No, I don't want to.
X " if you don't do it, they will probably bash you for not doing anything. It will be in your best interests if you do it now before they come. I will tell them you don't do anything and they will leave you alone."
A "Why would they listen to you?
X "Well, I'm the oldest and they all respect me.
A" Okay, but I still don't want to do anything.
X " Just do it now and get it over and done with before they come."
At this time the red car in which Y, H and Hajeid were, with two other men, pulled up behind the white van and Miss A heard a number of male voices which were shouting and yelling.
X then forced oral sex on Miss A, even though she continued to say she did not want to do it.
When he finished, she stood up and walked away from where he was. The four men from the red vehicle came running towards her. One of them crash tackled her to the ground. While she was on the ground, some of the men started to kick her about her legs. When they stopped kicking her, she was pulled to her feet and one of the four men from the red car, picked her up on his shoulder and threw her into some bushes. She was screaming and crying at this stage.
Y, H and Hajeid all participated in these assaults on her. This episode of assault was the subject of the first item in the Schedule of offences which the offender H asked to be taken into account when I sentenced him in relation to the eighth count in the indictment. These assaults were violent and calculated to cause fear and alarm. It is clear beyond doubt, in my opinion, that the men concerned and X intended by these assaults to achieve a total physical domination of Miss A and to crush any resistance she might have had.
From this time, until he left the park, H joined with his co- accused and the other men present in the park in detaining Miss A for advantage and in detaining Miss B for advantage, in each case for himself, and six other males.
X then approached Miss A again. She was by this time sitting on a park seat. Before speaking to her, he motioned the other assailants from the red car to go away and they stood some distance away in a group, apparently obeying him.
The following conversation then occurred:
X. "I told you it would happen. I warned you what they would do.
A. You didn't tell me they were going to get violent and tackle me.
X. Yeah, well if you don't do what they want to do, that's what they do. So, do it now. I'll go over and tell them you don't do anything and they will leave you alone. Do you want to get bashed or not?
A. No."
He then had oral sex with her for the second time. He ejaculated in her mouth and she spat out the semen on the ground.
When she did this, X walked away and the four men, who included Y, H and Hajeid approached her and all stood around her, demanding "head jobs". After further threats of violence from these men, she had non consensual oral sex with a man described by her as 'the fat male', ie, H. He said to her:" There's no point crying, it won't get you anywhere."
The male described by her as the "WRX male", then said, " Listen guys, I'm the one with the WRX, I'm next." He then demanded oral sex or her would bash her, he pulled down his pants and had non- consensual oral sex with her.
H then came running back and again demanded oral sex, saying he would bash her if he didn't get it, but he was pushed away by another man who also forced non consensual oral sex on her, after putting a condom on his penis.
During this sexual assault, this man yelled out " She's not doing it right. This Chick's shit at head jobs".
H assaulted her sexually again, after uttering further threats and Y also sexually assaulted her, after threatening to bash her. Both of these sexual assaults were oral.
Following this, a group of men ran over to her. She could not identify them. They were not from the red car. One of them said:
"Your friend told us you had AIDS or herpes or hepatitis or something. Is it true?
Miss A said:" No. I don't. I don't think my friend would have said that because I don't."
The man then said:" I swear to God, if you're lying, we'll get you."
This last exchange in itself indicates the type of person involved in these incidents.
Following this, she saw that the red car had arrived and that the four occupants were in the park. These four men then surrounded her and demanded oral sex. She inquired about her friend and caught a glimpse of her near some bushes. One of the men assaulted her, by snatching a necklace from her neck and breaking it. Hajeid, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind the toilet block. She struggled and protested. A conversation ensued:
"Hajeid. Give me a head job.
Miss B. No. I want to go home.
Hajeid. I'll take you home after you give me a head job.
Miss B . No."
She then tried to walk away and was assaulted by another male, the man who had first had non consensual oral sex with her.
Hajeid then grabbed her, forced her behind the toilet block, onto her knees and holding her head, forced his penis into her mouth. He ejaculated into her mouth and she spat the semen onto the ground.
Following this, Hajeid, H, Y and the other men from the red car got into it and left the park.
However, the attacks on the two victims continued. It is not necessary for the purposes of the present proceedings that I should again set them out in detail.
Following these terrible events, X and his companions then abandoned these two helpless victims, late at night, in a park in Greenacre. They had no phones, no money, did not know where they were. They were distraught, crying and feeling the effects of these repeated rapes and assaults. They were terrified.
Fortunately, a man and his wife were returning home in a car at the time, saw them and rescued them.
The evidence at the trial established that each of the accused and some others had regular mobile phone contact with one another. I have set out earlier how these phones were used to co-ordinate the arrival of the red car just as X was prophesying what would happen to Miss A if she did not co-operate with him.
These crimes are very serious crimes. Sexual intercourse without consent is always a serious crime. It goes without saying that a woman is always entitled to refuse to engage in sexual intercourse. Consent can be refused at any time, even if previously, the woman may have indicated a willingness to engage in sexual activity of some kind. There is evidence of some kissing and cuddling engaged in by Miss B, but it is clear beyond doubt that each of Miss A and Miss B at all stages made it plain they would not engage in any form of sexual intercourse.
What makes the sexual assault offences in this case very serious, in my opinion, is that they were all committed in company of the assailant and of seven other men. This was the aggravating feature charged and proved.
Additionally, each sexual assault offence charged against H and his companions, each assault offence and each offence of kidnapping was a joint criminal enterprise between him and those with him.
However, H was charged with and pleaded guilty to fewer offences than those proved at trial against X, Y and Hajeid. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of detaining for advantage, two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent against Miss A, and one count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent against Miss B. He has asked that I take two charges of assault into account when I sentence him in relation to Count 8 on the indictment, that being the count in respect of his actual act of sexual intercourse with Miss A. The other counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent related to offences actually committed by others in the group, for which he was liable as a Principal in the second degree.
Y and Hajeid were convicted of seven counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, whilse X was convicted of nine counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, three of them being for actual acts committed by him.
Of course, it must not be forgotten that H has also pleaded guilty to one offence of aggravated sexual assault against Miss C and a count of detaining Miss C and he also faces sentence for offences of aggravated indecent assault, acts of indecency, assaults and detention in relation to Miss E. In an over all sense, he has been involved in more incidents than Chami or Hajeid, but less than X. As I have just mentioned, when it comes to sentence for the offences against Miss A and Miss B, he must receive less than that given to X and Hajeid because of this and also because of the other factors of an early plea of guilty, remorse , his intellectual disability and his prospects of rehabilitation. When it comes to the offences against Miss C, I consider his criminality is less than that of Chami or X and his sentences for those offences will reflect that and the other factors of an early plea of guilty, remorse , his intellectual disability and his prospects of rehabilitation.
However, when it comes to sentence for the offences against Miss E, his sentence must be appropriately severe.
3. Bankstown 30th August 2000
Facts:
On 30th August 2000, Miss C was raped by 14 men in a series of orgiastic attacks. The first such rapes occurred in toilets in Marion Street Bankstown. Here she was sexually assaulted by four men, one of them assaulting her twice.
She was then passed over to another group. I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that this group, in a black car, had been summoned to the scene by mobile phone messages passed on by the first group of attackers. The men in this car talked with some of the attackers from the toilets and one of those attackers joined them.
There were three men in this second group, H, who was . one of them, had been with the group which sexually assaulted her in the carpark toilets, but he had not assaulted her there. In fact, he behaved in a somewhat irrational way, running in and out of the toilets and shouting out loudly at one of the assailants of Miss C.
She eventually found herself on her own and when she left the toilets, she was induced by a dishonest woman, who stole her money, to accompany her to a black car nearby. H was in this car and he and some other men nearby promised they would take her home. This was a ruse to get her into the car.
She was then taken by this car to a carpark near the Bankstown Trotting Club. There, H got out of the car with her and despite her protests, forced oral sex on her in a shed at the carpark. He is a powerfully built man, she is very slightly built and I have no doubt at all that she submitted to this out of fear for her life. Despite her protests, she was vaginally raped once by another man in this car to whom Miss C was given by H and orally raped as well by one of the men in the car. H was not actually present when these rapes occurred, but I am certain he knew that they would occur. H was in mobile phone contact with X at this time and I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that between them arrangements were made for the holding of Miss C until X, Chami, Y and another man, known only as Nike Sam, arrived.
When the men who were with H in the black car finished with Miss C , a two door red sedan driven by Chami, and with X, another man known only as Nike Sam and Y, as his passengers pulled up in the carpark near the Bankstown Trotting Club. Y was the front seat passenger.
The complainant saw the occupants of the black car go over to the red car and talk to its occupants. This enables me to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the men in the black car, including H told the men in the red car of the rapes which had so far occurred.
If there were any doubt about this matter, in his record of interview, Chami, who was in the red car, claimed ( page 2) " Well, I copped a phone call from X, he told me there's a slut at Bankstown Trotting Club".
Thereafter, Miss C was raped by the men in the red car and another group of men in another black car. This last group included X1, the brother of X. I set out the details of these events in my reasons for sentence concerning X.
Y,X and Hajeid were all involved in the attacks on 10th August 2000 on Miss A and Miss B. X and his brother, X1 were involved in similar attacks on Miss D on 12th August 2000.
On 14 June, 2002, I sentenced Hajeid for his part in these attacks on Miss A and Miss B.
In that matter, I imposed sentences of 15 years imprisonment for each offence of non consensual sexual intercourse and a sentence of 5 years imprisonment for each offence of detaining for advantage.
I cumulated some sentences and made some concurrent, with the result that I imposed a head sentence on Hajeid of 23 years and a non parole period of 15 years.
On 9th August 2002, I sentenced Chami for an offence of detention for advantage, for which I imposed a sentence of 7 years imprisonment and sexual intercourse without consent in circumstances of aggravation, for which I imposed a sentence of 15 years. I partly cumulated these sentences and imposed a total head sentence of 18 years with a non parole period of 10 years and 6 months.
On 15th August, 2002, I sentenced X for his part in the events on 10th , 12th and 30th August 2002 and I imposed a head sentence of 55 years and a non parole period of close to 40 years.
The prisoner, H, participated in the gang rapes on 10th, and 30th August 2000 as well as the events on 4th August 2000. As I have earlier observed, what occurred on 30th August was a series of gang rapes on that night
As I have earlier remarked, the crimes on 10th , 12th and 30th August 2000 were carefully planned and co-ordinated.
The degree of planning and co-ordination by use of mobile phones distinguishes these crimes from other cases of gang rape which have been reported from time to time, which are often, if not usually, perpetrated by intoxicated men, who have seized an opportunity which has been presented to them. It is also clear to me that what H participated in on 4th August was a series of violent and disgusting acts which were a prelude to other sexual assaults which clearly were being organised as he and the others were assaulting Miss E.
Each crime was callous, violent, sordid and degrading.
Moreover, the crimes were not something which happened on the spur of the moment and none of the assailants were in any way affected by alcohol or drugs.
The crimes were planned and premeditated. In each instance they involved gang activity and the selection of a helpless young female victim.
In my opinion, the evidence at the three trials establishes beyond reasonable doubt that X was the leader of the gang on all occasions and he must be regarded as the worst of all the offenders. He is a menace to society.
He has declined to give any explanation of the reasons for these attacks and refuses to express any remorse or contrition.
Chami and Hajeid were guilty of significant crimes, but when I imposed sentences on them, I imposed lesser sentences because their criminal activities, though significant, were not as serious as the total criminal behaviour of X. I regard H as being entitled to some leniency for reasons I have already mentioned.
Submissions on sentence
In the case of H, a considerable amount of material was presented concerning his background, his mental state, his remorse and his prospects for rehabilitation. None of the other offenders so far sentenced presented any meaningful material at all, though Chami did present some information about his background, his previous good character and he
evinced some slight expressions of remorse.
X and Hajeid defiantly denied their guilt. X went further by evincing contempt for the victims and the Court.
Because I have this material, it is possible for me to consider imposing sentences of a lesser nature than those imposed on the others and in giving consideration to H's prospects of rehabilitation, to decide if that should result in a longer than usual period on parole.
Background of the offender.
He was born on 21st April 1983 and is the youngest of eight children. His parents came from Lebanon. His mother was married at the age of eleven years and his eldest brother, who is 35 years old is only 12 years younger than his mother. With the exception of his eldest brother, his brothers and sisters all suffer from physical or mental disabilities. One of his sisters is both mentally and physically extremely disabled, requiring her mother's full time care.
He has been assessed by competent psychologists as being mildly retarded, with an IQ of 67, which puts him in the lowest 1% of the population.
A psychosexual assessment of him reveals that there is at present a moderate risk of him re-offending.
During his young and teenage years, he would fly into sudden explosions of anger, damaging furniture and punching walls. His eldest brother told me that he would not seem to comprehend at times what it was that he was doing.
He was troublesome at school, but the family for reasons which I think were related to poverty, could not take him to recommended medical and psychological resources.
Although his brother warned him about his associates, he ignored the warnings and in his teenage years began to hang out with undesirable people of his own age. Because of his intellectual difficulties he went to a special school instead of the usual high school and left when he was about 14 years old. He has difficulty in reading and arithmetic and finds learning difficult. However, in the controlled environment of Kariong Juvenile Detention Centre, he has done a number of courses successfully.
A question has arisen as to whether he is a paranoid schizophrenic. Dr Wade,who saw him in July, considers that he has symptoms suggestive of this and has prescribed treatment. These symptoms include hallucinations involving the hearing of voices. Dr Westmore in earlier reports did not feel he was suffering from any sort of mental illness. At present, according to reports of Kariong staff, he isolates himself from other inmates.
His family clearly love him and his father and eldest brother attend court. The family have taken steps to bring it to his attention that they disapprove of his conduct, but at the same time, they want to encourage him to rehabilitate.
Remorse or contrition.
He has expressed remorse and concern about the effect of his actions on the girls who were his victims. He is apparently quite severely affected by his realisation of the enormity of his offences. So far, he is the only offender to have expressed any concern for these girls and the only one to have clearly expressed any remorse. I am prepared to accept that his feelings of remorse and for the victims are genuine.
His future life in custody.
Whilst there are no programmes in Juvenile Detention Centres for the intellectually impaired, there are sex offender programmes and other useful programmes.
The Department of Corrective Services at present do not have sufficient beds for intellectually disabled prisoners, but will have more in two years time. In my view, his intellectual and mental problems are of such severity that he should not be housed in the main part of an adult prison. I recommend to that Department that he be placed in a unit
for intellectually disabled prisoners when he is admitted into the prison system.
In the meantime, I direct that such he serve his sentence in a detention centre until he reaches the age of 21 years. I make this order because I am satisfied there are special circumstances in his case, namely his mental and intellectual disabilities, which cannot be catered for in an adult prison for at least two years.
Victim Impact Statement
Each of the victims has submitted victim impact statements. I have considered each one carefully. Clearly each victim has suffered greatly and will continue to suffer. The sentences which I impose will take that into account.
I would like to commend each of the complainants for their courage and strength in these proceedings. The people of this State owe them a great debt. If they had not been prepared to come forward and to persist this offender and other members of this dangerous group of offenders could not have been brought to justice.
General legal considerations
I have set out earlier in this judgment my views on the seriousness of the offences and the features that distinguish H from X, Hajeid and Chami. He has pleaded guilty at a very early stage and is entitled to a discount of 25% of each sentence because of this. Early pleas of guilty should always be encouraged as they facilitate the course of justice, they avoid the need for long, harrowing and expensive trials and in some cases at least, this being one, they indicate remorse on the part of the offender.
He was clearly responsible for his own actions and is liable to punishment accordingly, but it remains true that he is intellectually and possibly mentally disabled. In the circumstances, the principles of general and specific deterrence are of less significance than they would be if he were intellectually and mentally normal.
He has shown some insight into his problems and has engaged in the programmes offered to him in Kariong. There is a reasonable prospect of rehabilitation if he is given the benefit of programmes designed for the intellectually and mentally disabled.
Therefore, I intend to ensure that whilst he receives quite a severe sentence, he will have a longer than usual non parole period.
Sentence
The prisoner has been in custody since 22nd November 2001. He also spent a further earlier period of custody of 35 days . I propose to take those periods into account.
4th August 2000 – on the train at Punchbowl
The maximum sentences for count 1, committing an act of indecency, and count 2, common assault, is 2 years imprisonment. I intend after applying the discount of 25% to sentence him to 6 months imprisonment on each of those counts.
The offence of aggravated indecent assault carries a maximum sentence of 7 years. The circumstances of this offence make it an offence of the worst type. I therefore intend to give him the maximum sentence less a discount of 25% for the plea of guilty, ie a sentence of 5 years and 3 months.
In relation to count 4, a charge of detention, I consider this is an offence, which when considered with the offences in the Schedule to Form 1, is an offence which is comparable to the offence of detention committed by Chami against Miss C. Therefore, after applying the discount of 25%, I will impose on him a sentence of 5 years and 3 months. Northcote Park – 10th August 2000.
Hajeid received sentences of 15 years imprisonment on each count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, 5 years for each offence of detention for advantage and 2 years for each assault.
Each offence he committed was of a comparable nature to that of Hajeid, but because of the discount of 25 %, he will receive a sentence of 11 years and 3 months for each offence of aggravated sexual assault, 3 years and 9 months for each offence of detention for advantage and 1 year and 6 months for each assault. When imposing sentence for the offence of aggravated sexual assault actually committed by him ( count 8 ) I have taken into account the matters in the Form one schedule, but I consider that the appropriate sentence is still 11 years and 3 months imprisonment.
Bankstown – 30th August 2000 Chami received 15 years for an offence of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and 7 years for detention for advantage. However, the detention by Chami was worse than that effected by H, since Chami made threats with a weapon and made it possible for X and another man to carry out a series of sexual assaults against Miss C in his car as he was driving.
I consider that the sentences for these offences should be the same as for similar offences committed by him against Miss A and Miss B, ie 11 years and 3 months for aggravated sexual assault and 3 years and 9 months for detention for advantage
I turn then to the particular offences and the particular sentences. I am going to detail the sentence. I make it plain that but for the principle of totality these sentences would in total be much longer. The principle of totality requires that having considered all the individual sentences, I look at the effect of all of them. I try to work out the criminality involved as a total matter and I then impose a sentence which is consonant with that criminality. The principle of totality means that particular individual sentences in a total sentence could receive a lesser sentence than if they were imposed on a sole offender, one for one offence. If that were not so and I just cumulated every sentence,the offender would get a sentence that was utterly unrealistic.
The sentences which I impose are set out hereunder. They result in the offender receiving a head sentence of 25 years and a non parole period of 15 years, reflecting the very special circumstances of his remorse, youth, intellectual and mental state and his real prospects of rehabilitation. To ensure that he receives a non parole period of 15 years,
the non parole period on his last sentence is very much shortened. I have taken into account the 35 days he served by reducing his final release date by that number of days.
Counts 1 and 2. I sentence the offender to 6 months imprisonment on each count, such sentences to be concurrent with one another and with the sentence for count 3.
Each sentence will commence on 22nd November 2000 and will conclude on 21 May 2001.
Count 3. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 5 years and 3 months. The sentence will commence on 22 November 2000 and will conclude on 21 February 2006.
Count 4. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 5 years and 3 months. That sentence will commence on 21st August 2001 and will conclude on 20th November 2006
Count 5. I sentence the offender to imprisonment as a fixed term of 3 years and 9 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with sentences for counts 7 and 8. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th May 2008.
Count 6. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 9. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 21st November 2021. There will be a non parole period of 4 years, which will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 20th August 2014.
Count 7. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence will be served concurrently with sentences for counts 5 and 8. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th November 2016. There will be a non parole period of 6 years to commence on 21st August 2004 and to conclude on 20th August 2010.
Count 8. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence will be served concurrently with sentences for counts 5 and 7 and partly cumulatively on count 4. The sentence will commence on 21st August 2004 and will conclude on 20th November 2015. There will be a non parole period of 6 years to commence on 21st August 2004 and to conclude on 20th August 2010.
Count 9. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 6 and partly cumulatively on the sentence for count 8. . The sentence will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 21st November 2021. There will be a non parole period of 4 years, which will commence on 21st August 2010 and will conclude on 20th August 2014.
Count 10. I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 3 years and 9 months as a fixed term. The sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 11. The sentence is commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude on 20th May 2018.
Count 11.
I sentence the offender to imprisonment for a period of 11 years and 3 months. This sentence is to be served concurrently with the sentence for count 10 and partly cumulatively on the sentence for count 9. The sentence is to commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude, having regard to an additional 35 days already served, on 15th October 2025. Because of the very special circumstances of the case and to ensure that the offender may be released to parole 15 years after commencing his sentence, I specify a non parole period that is to commence on 21st August 2014 and is to conclude on 15th October 2015 on which date the prisoner is to be released on parole. He is then to submit to supervision by the Probation and Parole Service for the remainder of his term of imprisonment or until that Service releases him from further parole obligations. He is to be released from imprisonment finally on 15th October 2025.
I recommend that the Department of Corrective Services permit him to serve his sentence in a Unit for Developmentally delayed prisoners. I direct that he serve his sentence until the age of 21 years in a Juvenile institution.
Other Matters – suppression of his name.
I have given very special consideration to the lifting of the suppression order on the name of the offender and in particular to the provisions of section 11 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.
Subsection 4B of that Section permits me to lift the suppression order at this point as I have sentenced the offender.
However, I am prohibited by subsection 4C from taking this step unless I am satisfied that to do so is in the interests of justice and that the prejudice to the person, ie the offender himself, arising from the publication or broadcasting of his name does not outweigh those interests. The burden of establishing the matters referred to under subsection 4 C lies on the Crown.
The Crown has submitted that it is in the interests of justice that the suppression order be lifted, but it cannot point to any particular matter to justify this submission other than the fact that it is generally considered to be in the public interest that all proceedings in a criminal court be conducted in public.
Whilst I agree that in general that is the position, I am of the opinion that in this case, where the offender is a person who has intellectual and mental disabilities, it is not in the interests of justice that the suppression order be lifted. Further, I consider that his special problems are such that the broadcasting or publishing of his name would cause him such prejudice that I could not be satisfied that this prejudice did not outweigh the interests of maintaining the suppression order.
The suppression order will remain.
The offender may be removed.
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