R v O’Sullivan, R v O’Sullivan, R v Bennett [2019] NSWDC 703

R v O’Sullivan, R v O’Sullivan, R v Bennett [2019] NSWDC 703

All three offenders participated in a joint criminal enterprise to wound Christopher Strauff with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Each is sentenced per their personal involvement and circumstances. The assessed objective seriousness is below midrange for most offences, and for Mr Bennett is at the lower end of the range due to intellectual disability, warranting an Intensive Correction Order rather than fulltime custody. Aggregate sentences imposed reflecting both objective and subjective factors, with special circumstances found in relation to parole periods for Solomen and Ma'amoloa O'Sullivan.

Parties
Prosecutor: Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP); Defendant: Solomen O'Sullivan; Defendant: Brandon Lee Bennett; Defendant: Ma'amoloa O'Sullivan
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 October 2019
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentence
Outcome
Conviction and sentence
Legal Topics
Violent Offences, Wounding With Intent, Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm, Affray, Complicity, Joint Criminal Enterprise, Sentencing, Intensive Correction Orders, Objective Seriousness, Intellectual Disability in Sentencing
Criminal Law Violent Offences Wounding With Intent Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm Affray Complicity Joint Criminal Enterprise Sentencing +3 more

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Parties

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

Prosecutor

Solomen O'Sullivan

Defendant

Brandon Lee Bennett

Defendant

Ma'amoloa O'Sullivan

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate sentence for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
  2. 2 Appropriate sentence for affray
  3. 3 Impact of intellectual disability on moral culpability and sentencing

Ratio Decidendi

All three offenders participated in a joint criminal enterprise to wound Christopher Strauff with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Each is sentenced per their personal involvement and circumstances. The assessed objective seriousness is below midrange for most offences, and for Mr Bennett is at the lower end of the range due to intellectual disability, warranting an Intensive Correction Order rather than fulltime custody. Aggregate sentences imposed reflecting both objective and subjective factors, with special circumstances found in relation to parole periods for Solomen and Ma'amoloa O'Sullivan.

Court Disposition

Conviction and sentence

Orders

  • Solomen O'Sullivan: Aggregate sentence of 5 years imprisonment, non-parole period 3 years, commencing 23 January 2019 (earliest parole 22 January 2022).
  • Ma'amoloa O'Sullivan: Aggregate sentence of 4 years imprisonment, non-parole period 2 years and 6 months, commencing 8 June 2019 (earliest parole 7 December 2021).