Parole Board Decision

In the matter of the Corrections Act 1997

and

In the matter of an Application for Parole by H J H

11 April 2008

Reason for Decision

On 25 June 2007 the Applicant appeared in the Supreme Court of Tasmania and pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, contrary to section 185(1) of the Criminal Code.

The Applicant was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment to commence on 6 November 2006 which was the date she was first taken into custody. It was ordered that the Applicant not be eligible to be considered for parole until serving 15 months of that sentence.

As such, the Applicant became eligible to be considered for Parole on 5 February 2008.

The Board has been provided with the comments on passing sentence made by Justice Crawford when sentencing the Applicant. As his honour noted the Applicant’s guilt arises out of the fact that she assisted her then husband to rape a ten year old girl. The comments on passing sentence made by Justice Crawford fully outline the factual circumstances surrounding the crimes committed by the Applicant.

In relation to the Applicant’s personal circumstances the Board notes his Honour made the following comments:

“She was aged 26 at the time and is now 28. She has not offended before. When considering the sentence appropriate for her crime, attention must be paid to her reduced intellectual ability. She is mildly disabled intellectually and is illiterate. Her education was at specials schools. Her social development has been stunted. She has a limited capacity for abstract reasoning and displays very little understanding of the seriousness of the charges and the victim impact. She has never lived independently. She lived with her parents and following her marriage with her husband, next door to them. She married about five years ago. Her relationship with her husband was a troubled one and he was violent to her. She appears to have been subject to his influence. She says that she has been sexually assaulted in the past.

Because of all of her problems and difficulties, the sentence will be less severe then normally is the case.”

The Board has been advised that a victim is registered in relation to the crimes committed by the Applicant but that victim did not wish to place any materials before the Board. The victim of the Applicant’s crime has requested that the Board make specific orders preventing the Applicant from having contact with her. The Board is of the view that such a request is reasonable and specific conditions will attach to the Applicant’s parole to prevent her from having contact with the victim of her crime.

In considering the Applicant’s application for parole the Board has taken into account the statutory criteria which it is required to do so pursuant to the Corrections Act 1997.

The Board has taken the following matters into account in assessing the Applicant’s application for parole :

a. The comprehensive pre-parole report prepared by her probation officer.

b. The Applicant’s prison record which can be described as exemplary.

c. The fact that the Applicant has no prior convictions.

The Board notes that notwithstanding her limited intellectual abilities the Applicant has undertaken a number of courses whilst in prison and she has also completed the Parole awareness course.

Given the Applicant’s limited intellectual abilities, the Board sought a report from a counsellor who has been providing ongoing counselling to the Applicant whilst in custody.

The Applicant’s counsellor has made specific recommendations regarding ongoing counselling should the Applicant be released into the community. The Board will make it a specific condition of the Applicant’s parole that she continues to undergo counselling.

The Board has been advised that the Applicant has terminated the relationship with her husband. The Applicant will be returning to live with her parents who will provide support to her in reintegrating back into the community.

Taking all matters into consideration the Board is of the view that the Applicant meets the statutory criteria to be granted a period of parole.

Paroled to 29/04/2008 – 05/05/2009