IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA	Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication	
AT Melbourne
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
CR-22-02405

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS		
		
v		
		
JULIAN ASSAFIRI 		

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MAIDMENT 	
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne	
DATE OF HEARING:	14 August 2023	
DATE OF SENTENCE:	14 August 2023	
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Assafiri	
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VCC 1457		

REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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Subject:	Plea - sentencing
Catchwords:		Intentionally causing injury
Legislation Cited:	
Cases Cited:	
Sentence:		$5000 fine without conviction

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APPEARANCES:
	Counsel	Solicitors	
For the DPP	Mr L. McPhie	Office of Public Prosecutions	
			
For the Accused	Ms T Milides	Milides Lawyers	

HIS HONOUR:
1	Julian Assafiri, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally causing injury.  The maximum term of imprisonment for that offence is 10 years.  You have no prior convictions.  
2	The prosecution has relied upon and read to the court a summary of prosecution opening for the plea.  I am not going to repeat that.  Suffice to say that the offending occurred in circumstances where I am satisfied that you attended, along with others, a property in Reservoir for the purpose of providing backup to others who sought to exercise discipline on a person who was a prospective member of an outlaw motorcycle gang.  On the date of the offence, which was 6 February of 2022, you assisted others who were in the process of assaulting the victim. 
3	It is accepted that you were complicit in the actions of one of your co-accused as evidenced by you grabbing the victim by the leg as he was trying to flee and scale a fence.  You ultimately succeeded in doing that but not before he received injuries either as a result of the direct application of force by one or more of your co-offenders, or by the fall occasioned by his endeavours to escape the assault that was taking place upon him. 
4	As it turned out, he received scratches to his forearms and to the head of the left elbow and an intra-articular fracture to the radial head of the right elbow.  The injuries were relatively serious and he was in pain for a considerable period of time with the inconvenience of being put in plaster to enable the injuries to heal.  There is no victim impact statement. 
5	Your counsel has provided me with an outline of submissions on your behalf.  She has provided me with background about you, and supported her submissions by the tendering of a number of references from family and friends which speak with one voice essentially of a young person with good character and a lot of potential.  The picture is of a hardworking young man who has good prospects of an excellent job in the foreseeable future. 
6	Given that you were 24 years of age at the time of the offending and are only 26 now, an important consideration is the degree to which the justice of the matter can be served by making an order without conviction.  There has been a deal of discussion about the merits of that. 
7	I found it quite a difficult question because the offending was certainly serious enough to warrant a conviction, but I have to balance the other factors, namely your good character, your age and the effects that a conviction may have on your prospects of future employment.  It seems to me that on balance your youth is a factor which tips the scales in favour of a non-conviction order. 
8	I entirely accept Mr McPhie's submissions as to the serious nature of the offending.  Even though the offence did not involve injury said to be a serious injury, nevertheless the nature of the incident and your participation in it would ordinarily attract a conviction.  
9	However I am persuaded that I can deal with you by way of a non-conviction order having regard to your good prospects of rehabilitation and your age which impacts on moral culpability in that it is recognised that young people are less able to exercise a degree of discretion. 
10	I note that you found yourself in a position where you were amongst other people, including the president of the outlaw motorcycle gang, and no doubt as a young person you would have been under a degree of influence and pressure to continue to participate in a way that was expected of you by others.  Hopefully you have learned a lesson from all of this. 
11	I have considered whether it is necessary to impose further punishment by way of a community correction order with a condition that you undergo a number of hours of unpaid community work.  That would have some advantages in that it would be hanging over your head for a while and would help in reminding you of the consequences of offending again in the future.  However, I think that your counsel's argument is a good one and that this case can be dealt with by way of a fine and I propose to deal with it in that way. 
12	I recognise that you are earning good money and that probably a fine that is commensurate with your participation in this offence will not cause you a great deal of financial embarrassment.  Nevertheless, I intend to impose a financial penalty. 
13	Therefore, on the charge of intentionally causing injury, without conviction I fine you $5,000.  
14	But for your plea of guilty I would have imposed a fine of $8,000 with conviction.  
15	Is there any other order I need make, Mr McPhie? 
16	MR McPHIE:  No, Your Honour. 
17	MS MILIDES:  No, thank you, Your Honour.  May it please the court. 
18	HIS HONOUR:  I think subject to the custody officer you can leave the dock now.  The fine will be dealt with, I think, in the usual way.  I don't think I need to make any other order about that, do I? 
19	MS MILIDES:  No, Your Honour, and I'll assist my client with obtaining that order. 
20	HIS HONOUR:  Yes. 
21	MS MILIDES:  May it please the court. 
22	HIS HONOUR:  I hope that you're able to stay out of trouble and that you get the job that seems to be coming your way, and that you lead a law-abiding life. 
23	OFFENDER:  Thanks, Your Honour. 
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