By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 20-year-old man who had fathered six children and used drugs for more than a decade has been jailed for two ice-fuelled armed robberies in Springvale.
The man’s own “extremely unhappy and tragic” childhood, which included a lengthy juvenile criminal history, was considered by County Court judge Meryl Sexton during sentencing on 6 April.
Judge Sexton said it was a “sad situation” that the accused was still unable to read and write, never had a paid job, had no desire to end his decade-plus of drug use and didn’t know how to live in society.
“I suspect that inside you’re still the angry six-year-old who doesn’t know why he behaves like this but doesn’t know any other way to behave.
“I think you’ve been let down by just about everyone who had contact with you from the age of six.
“A lot of dreadful things happened to you that made it worse.”
Judge Sexton said the man was first admitted to a child psychiatric unit at six for his disturbed and aggressive behaviour.
He had been abused by men as a seven-year-old, and had since been shunted between foster homes, youth detention, youth residential services, couch surfing and living on the streets.
During foster care, he was introduced to drugs and crime. He started using cannabis and booze at nine, graduating to cocaine, ecstasy and speed by 11.
At the age of 12, he was dealing drugs to support his drug use, and had his first stint locked up in youth detention.
By his very early teens, he was addicted to ice.
The man had fathered six children with six different women but never had a stable relationship, Judge Sexton said.
He only had some contact with the mother of his eldest child, and no contact with any of the children.
The man had pleaded guilty to the armed robberies at a liquor store and a servo on 2 and 4 July, 2016 respectively.
At the liquor store, he had approached two staff closing up about 11pm. He pressed a 15-20 centimetre kitchen knife against a worker’s back and dragged the other worker by the wrist into the store.
Disguised under a hoodie, he stole the store’s cash tray with $400, and demanded the workers’ wallets with cash and a credit card, as well as cigarettes and booze.
Two nights later, with the help of an accomplice, he placed a long, curved knife with a long blade on a servo counter and successfully demanded the cash tray and six tobacco pouches.
On his arrest the next day, he was too drug-intoxicated to be interviewed.
A defence barrister had argued to the County Court that the accused was trying to obtain cash for his drug habit.
Judge Sexton said armed robbery was “all too often” committed against “easy targets” by drug-affected people.
She accepted the accused was highly likely to suffer a complex form of post-traumatic stress disorder – a product of a “dysfunctional upbringing”.
He had effectively grown up “alone in the world”.
But the judge was not satisfied his mental condition directly caused his offending, nor supported a ‘mental impairment’ defence.
She took into account the man’s young age and early guilty plea but also his high risk of reoffending and his history of breaching court orders.
The accused was jailed for three years and four months, with a non-parole period of two years.
