STATE OF TASMANIA v BRAD EDWARD CLARK 28 NOVEMBER 2024
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE MARTIN AJ
Mr Clark, you have pleaded guilty to unlawfully assaulting the complainant by pushing her out of a motor vehicle. You have also pleaded guilty to assaulting the complainant by grabbing her chin and squeezing it. In addition, you have pleaded guilty, and I am dealing with, summary offences of driving recklessly and failing to comply with the prescribed storage of firearms requirements by having ammunition which was not stored as necessary.
The charges arise out of events on 8 December 2023. On 7 December, the complainant ended a relationship with you, which had been in existence for about three months. You had known each other for about a year. The complainant blocked you on all forms of social media. On 8 December, she received a call from your mother who asked her to contact you. She did so and you convinced her to come to your home. When the complainant arrived at your premises, you were not home and she waited for you.
Eventually, you arrived with another person and the three of you drove to a hotel in Cygnet. You were driving the car. Apparently, you and the other male entered the hotel for about 10 minutes while the complainant waited in the car. Then you returned and drove to another hotel where again, the complainant waited in the vehicle while you and the other man entered the hotel. You were there for, what is described, as a “fair while” before returning to the car and driving the other male home.
Once you had dropped the other male at his premises, you became aggressive and drove at speed. The complainant described this as the fastest she had ever been in a car. You were angry. You fishtailed, did donuts, repeatedly said to the complainant, “do you want to die”, which terrified her. She begged you to let her out of the car, but you refused to do so. While you were driving in this manner, you began screaming at the complainant, calling her a “slut” and you punched the steering wheel and windows of the car.
This type of behaviour in the context of a breakup of a domestic relationship is all too familiar to the criminal courts, as is your statements to the complainant, “if you loved me, you wouldn’t be doing this”. It is typical of male persons in your position to, in some way, try and blame the complainant for your anger; in some way to try and excuse what you were doing. It should be said very loudly and clearly that in this instance, and in many, many other cases, it is not the fault of the complainant. She has nothing to be ashamed of or to be concerned that in some way she was at fault.
The violence that followed is also distressingly familiar to the criminal courts. While you were driving, you grabbed the complainant’s chin and squeezed it and you said words to the effect, “I do love you, that’s the problem”. This behaviour continued for about 30 minutes. The driving continued for some distance and the complainant was asking you to let her out, but you refused. She began to dial triple zero. When you realised what she was doing, you slowed to about 10 kph, unclipped the complainant’s seatbelt, opened her door and pushed her out of the moving vehicle. She landed on her shoulder and rolled onto her back. I do not have any information suggesting that she was injured in any way, and I do not have a victim impact statement as to the effects of your behaviour upon her. No doubt she was very distressed at the time, but I know nothing about how she has recovered.
The call to triple zero connected, but the complainant’s phone was low on battery and she was told by the operator to walk to the nearest house and ask for help. Police arrived shortly afterwards. Subsequently, police attended at your home and, as part of a search, found the ammunition that was not stored in a locked receptacle, and magazines in a kitchen drawer.
Eventually, you were located at your brother’s address, where police found you heavily intoxicated. Later, you participated in an interview when you said that after an argument on 7 December 2023, you did not believe that you and the complainant had broken up. You spoke about going to the hotel but you were not entirely frank with the police about your driving. You were also not entirely frank with the police about your conduct toward the complainant. You claimed that you did not unbuckle the complainant’s seatbelt and that the car was at a complete stop when you pushed the complainant out of the car.
Subsequently, an interim family violence order was put in place. That order was made final on 4 November 2024. You breached the interim order on 19 May and 8 September 2024 as a consequence of which you spent some time in custody. It appears that overall you have spent 74 days in custody, which has given you a taste of what that is like.
On 4 November you were sentenced for the breaches and a Community Corrections order was put in place, with supervision, and 60 hours of community service.
You are now 34. Apart from a couple of minor matters prior to your behaviour on this occasion, you have not been in serious trouble with the law. You had a good and stable upbringing in Tasmania but coming to the end of 2023, family issues placed a degree of stress upon you which aggravated a longstanding condition of depression, for which you have taken, over the years, medication. You completed Year 10 and have consistently been in employment in the labour, construction and painting industries.
You were employed as a painter at the time these events occurred, but you lost you employment when you were taken into custody. To your credit, since you were released, you obtained employment with a plumbing company, where you are currently employed. Notwithstanding the short time of your employment, you have been provided by your employer with a letter of recommendation which speaks highly of your work ethic and your importance to the plumbing operation. The employer has emphasised that you need your licence in order to continue with employment and retaining your employment is dependent on your ability to fulfill the driving requirements.
I am told by your Counsel that you are currently in a poor financial position, although you own a small rural property where you reside, but there is a significant mortgage and you are behind on the repayments. I accept that you are remorseful for your conduct and I note that you pleaded guilty at a very early stage.
Mr Clark, offences against female persons in domestic relationships are distressingly common and there is a need to emphasise that such conduct will not be tolerated by the Court. The community strongly disapproves of this type of conduct and expect courts to respond accordingly. Every offence of this type is a serious offence and your conduct in pushing the complainant out of the car, even at a low speed, can reasonably be described as appalling.
Every crime of this type is a serious crime but, as with all crimes, there is a scale of seriousness. Your conduct is toward the lower end of the scale of seriousness. I accept that it was impulsive and, fortunately, no physical harm was caused to the victim. In your favour is your early plea of guilty and your lack of prior offending, together with the fact that you are currently in employment. It would be contrary to the public interest if you were to lose that employment.
Not without hesitation, I have decided that I will impose a sentence of imprisonment, but I will suspend that sentence immediately, so you will be free to go about your life. You will be under the supervision of a probation officer, but you should understand that it is a very close run thing as to whether you were going to be required to serve some period of imprisonment. In arriving at this decision, I have also taken into account that you have spent 74 days in custody.
You are convicted of all four offences. I will impose a single penalty. After allowing for your plea of guilty, I impose a sentence of imprisonment of 18 months, which is suspended immediately. You will be required to be of good behaviour for a period of two years and during that period, you are not to commit any offence punishable by imprisonment.
In addition, I make a Community Corrections order. You are to be under the supervision of a probation officer for that period of two years, commencing today, and you are to obey the reasonable directions of a probation officer as to your employment, your place of residence, and your associates. You are also required to obey the directions of a probation officer as to educational programmes you should undertake, including the Family Violence Offender Intervention Programme, and such medical treatment, including psychiatric or psychological treatment, as the probation officer directs. You are not to leave Tasmania without the prior permission of a probation officer.
It is a further condition that you are not to apply for or hold a firearms’ licence for the period of two years, and you are not to own or possess a firearm during that period. Bearing in mind your prior good record, and the importance of your employment, I have decided to exercise leniency and not impose any disqualification of your licence.
I make a Family Violence Order in the same terms as the Family Violence Order made by the Magistrates Court, but this Family Violence Order will be in place for two years from today. I make it a condition of the suspended sentence that Mr Clark comply with the terms of any Family Violence Order currently in place.
Mr Clark, you are to report today to the Community Corrections office in 175 Liverpool Street, Hobart.
The two assault offences are recorded as Family Violence offences.