A Shellharbour man who threatened to burn his own mother's house down just days after his release from prison has had his sentence for breaching an apprehended violence order cut on appeal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Peter Robert Monaghan left custody on parole on December 22, 2023 and the following day went to his mother's house twice, acts which breached an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) put in place to protect his mother.
Three days later, Monaghan called his mother and told her he was wet and hungry, asking her to meet him outside a particular pharmacy.
She told him that if he gave her an address she would drop off clothes, but would not meet him.
He responded with: "I want $100 and my clothes and everything, otherwise I'll burn your house down".
Monaghan eventually admitted to breaching the ADVO but denied the charge of intimidation; however, Magistrate Gabriel Fleming found him guilty after a hearing.
She sentenced him at Wollongong Local Court to a term of 18 months' imprisonment on each of the charges, to be served concurrently, with a minimum term of nine months.
Monaghan appealed the severity of the sentence to the District Court, with his lawyer Elizabeth Logan telling the court in Wollongong on Thursday that the criminality involved in the breach of the ADVO was less than that of the intimidation yet the offences each attracted the same penalty.
Ms Logan said the prison sentence for the breach should be reduced and noted that the maximum sentence for breaching an ADVO was two years' imprisonment.
She also submitted that the magistrate had not placed appropriate weight on the link between Monaghan's mental health issues and his criminal behaviour.
Crown prosecutor Jacqueline Azad said Monaghan was a repeat offender who'd been given the benefit of non-custodial orders in the past which he breached.
Judge Sharon Harris said the breaches of the ADVO were below the middle of the range of seriousness for that particular offence but the intimidation, "in circumstances where she was in fear of him" was serious.
Judge Harris noted that mental health experts had concluded Monaghan presented with a number of mental health issues and one linked those to his poor decision-making and offending.
She also said that the time of Monaghan's release from custody last year was difficult because his father had died on Christmas Day three years before, and services available to him had closed for the holiday period.
Judge Harris said the sentencing exercise the magistrate had faced was a difficult one, but she had found special circumstances (entitling Monaghan to a longer period on parole) and his mental health had been front of mind.
However, Judge Harris did grant the appeal and cut Monaghan's sentence to 16 months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of eight months.
This makes him eligible for release in late August.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
