R v Tukuafu [2022] NSWDC 671

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Tukuafu [2022] NSWDC 671 Hearing dates: 22 November 2022 Date of orders: 22 November 2022 Decision date: 22 November 2022 Jurisdiction: Criminal Before: Haesler SC DCJ Decision: Aggregate sentence of 8 years with a non-parole period of 5 years. Catchwords: CRIME – Specially aggravated B&E and commit serious indictable offence -wound - Supply prohibited drug SENTENCING - Relevant factors on sentence – multiple offences - very serious harm to the victim of the wounding - young offender - deprived background - early guilty plea- negative impact of time spent in juvenile detention considered - impact of previous trauma on offender - offences committed on parole and subject to ICO - Form 1 matters- institutionalised offender Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. Category: Sentence Parties: Siaosi Tukuafu (the offender) Director of Public Prosecutions Representation: Solicitors: Mr N Ashby, Solicitor Advocate, Legal Aid NSW (for the offender) Ms S Knox (for Director of Public Prosecutions) File Number(s): 2021/00224165; 2021/00251527

SENTENCE – EX TEMPORE REVISED

Introduction 1. Siaosi Tukuafu is still only a young man. He was born in February 2000. His background as a child did not help him form prosocial attachments in the community. His life has been formed by associations with people who commit crimes against our community and by his regular incarceration in juvenile institutions and now gaols. He has never had a chance to lead a normal life in our community. 2. When Tukuafu was released to parole on 19 August 2020, he was subject to the fundamental condition of parole, that he be of good behaviour. He was not of good behaviour. Instead of keeping to the conditions of his parole, he continued his association with other and older criminals. He joined a criminal group supplying illicit drugs to the community. Soon after his release he committed several serious offences, including the invasion of a house in Western Sydney, which had very serious consequences. 3. He entered guilty pleas in the Local Court. An aggregate sentence will be imposed today, but I will reduce each indicated sentence by 25% to reflect the utilitarian value of those early plea. Because there must be some accumulation of penalty, I will take care that the benefit of that reduction is not be eroded by the process of accumulation.