R v Lovett [2008] NSWDC 302

New South Wales District Court

CITATION: R v Lovett [2008] NSWDC 302

28 March 2008 HEARING DATE(S): 1 April 2008 9 April 2008

JUDGMENT DATE: 9 April 2008

JURISDICTION: Criminal

JUDGMENT OF: Conlon SC DCJ

DECISION: CONVICTED. Sentenced to a non-parole period of 3 years & 6 months commencing 22 January 2007 and expiring 21 July 2010. Additional 18 months to expire 21 January 2012.

CATCHWORDS: Maliciously inflict grevious bodily harm - Plea of guilty - Domestic violence and deterrence in sentencing

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)

CASES CITED: R v Hamid [2006] NSWCCA 302 R v Edigarov (2001) 125 A Crim R 558

PARTIES: Regina Stephen John Lovett

FILE NUMBER(S): 2007/00010773

COUNSEL: Ms. J. Healey (Accused)

SOLICITORS: Ms. L. Cocca (Crown)

JUDGMENT

1 HIS HONOUR: The offender, Stephen John Lovett, appears for sentence following his plea of guilty to the offence of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. The offence is contrary to s 35(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1900 and carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. The offender has also requested that three further matters be taken into account on a Form 1 schedule. Exhibit A contains the agreed statement of facts. It reads as follows: The offender and victim, Penny Watson, were in a relationship for about 18 months. They lived together in Airds before they both went to prison for stealing offences. The offender was released in September 2006 and the victim was released in November 2006, at which time they recommenced their relationship although they did not live together. Apparently the relationship was a rocky one with previous violence. In December 2006 the offender went back into prison for breach of parole and the victim decided to end the relationship and she commenced a relationship with another man. On 15 January 2007 the offender appeared at Moss Vale Local Court where he was given conditional bail. One of the conditions included that he not visit the townships of Mittagong, Moss Vale and Bowral and he was to reside at 15/2 Greenacre Road, Wollongong. At about 7.20pm on Friday 19 January 2007 the offender was located in Moss Vale in breach of his bail conditions and was arrested, he was then refused bail. On 20 January 2007 he appeared at the Parramatta Bails Court and was granted bail on the same conditions as before. Upon his release the offender contacted the victim by telephone and asked her to come to Campbelltown and see him. The offender then caught a bus from Campbelltown to Mittagong in breach of bail conditions. The victim phoned the offender a couple of times and he told her that he was about 20 minutes away. The victim met the offender in Mittagong near the train station, they walked to her place at 1 Crimea Street, Balaclava (Mittagong) where they then both consumed an unknown amount of alcohol. At about 9.30pm the offender went to sleep on the victim's bed whilst the victim stayed up for some time until she fell asleep on the couch. On 21 January at about 2am the offender awoke wanting more alcohol and an argument followed between the offender and the victim. The offender shoved the victim in the stomach pushing her down. When the victim went to get up then he kicked her in the stomach area. The victim had previously told the offender she was pregnant with his child, this was in fact not true. He apologised and he kissed her and told her he was sorry. They then both went to lie down and they fell asleep until about 4am. A few hours later the victim got up to use the toilet and noticed she was bleeding. The offender told her she should call an ambulance and she did so. Phone records show that a call was made at 6.30am. The ambulance arrived and then the police arrived about 7.48am. Police spoke to the victim and observed that she was well affected by alcohol. She was asked if she needed medical attention but she declined and she did not tell them that the offender was in the house. Police and ambulance then left. The victim was still in pain so she went back to sleep and so did the offender. Around lunch time that day the offender and the victim got out of bed and they began to consume more alcohol. The victim stated that she only had two drinks. The offender became drunk and became violent towards her so she waited for him to go to the bathroom so she could hide the alcohol from him. However, when the offender returned from the toilet he became enraged, began to berate and abuse her, calling her a whore and a slut. The victim told the offender not to call her that. The offender then came face to face with the victim and said, "What are you going to do about it". A struggle ensued between the victim and the offender in the kitchen over a knife, as a result of which the victim and the offender sustained cuts to their hands. The victim managed to break away for a brief moment but the offender followed her into the dining room and grabbed her by the hair. He began to physically assault the victim by punching her a number of times to the head, face and body. Whilst he was assaulting her he said to her a number of times, "You fucking bitch, you fucking slut I'm going to kill you". The victim kept screaming for help and for someone to call the police but when she called for help, the offender grabbed her by the throat, started to choke her with his left hand while punching her with his right hand and saying things like, "You'll be dead by the time I'm finished with you, I'm going to fucking kill you". The victim was scared, she was begging with the offender not to hurt her. The offender then dragged her to the ground and dragged her around the dining room area by the hair. After some time the offender let go of the victim's hair and walked back into the kitchen. The victim then saw the victim washing blood off. She said to him, "Look at you trying to wash away the evidence". The offender came back to her, kicked her in the stomach which did not result in any further injuries. He also began to punch her again around the head, body and arms, she then lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness she contacted triple-0 and asked for police and an ambulance. Records obtained from the Sydney Communications Centre say that the triple-0 call was made at 10.03pm. Phone records show that the triple-0 call made by the victim was made from a mobile phone belonging to the offender which had been left by him at the victim's home. Police attended the location a short time later and secured the crime scene. The victim was taken to Liverpool Hospital and treated for injuries.