Man jailed for breaking into home of sleeping District Court judge

IT was the perfect crime ... actually, no it wasn’t. Far from it. One Adelaide criminal who chose the wrong house to rob can now spend the next year and a half pondering the error of his ways.

A DISTRICT Court judge and acclaimed kickboxing referee was robbed as he and his family slept inside their home, court documents reveal.

Judge Rauf Soulio was sleeping inside his North Adelaide home in June last year when Cecil Spencer Wilson broke in through the front door in the early hours of a Saturday morning.

Judge Soulio, who was appointed to the District Court bench in 2006, was woken by a loud noise and ran to the front door before seeing a car speeding up the street.

The judge then noticed three satchels containing documents, jewellery and electronic goods had been stolen.

Police tracked Wilson, 26, through DNA left at the scene and he was later arrested for the theft and other offences.

Between December 2013 and February 2014, Wilson sold items that he had hired from Radio Rentals.

He also pleaded guilty to an incident in August last year, when he sped away from police at a service station before providing a false name for the driver of the car.

Wilson also admitted breaching the conditions of a good behaviour bond imposed when a previous 17-month sentence was suspended.

Supreme Court judge Ann Vanstone said Wilson was an Aboriginal man who had endured a disrupted childhood in which he never learned to read or write.

Justice Vanstone said despite Wilson’s long criminal history and pattern of drug abuse, he had made efforts to kick his habit.

She said Wilson had the support of his long-term partner, who did not use drugs and described him as a loving father of two girls.

“You have two young daughters and your son is due to be born on March 2 this year,” Justice Vanstone said.

“Your partner says when you are released she will provide you again with a loving and supportive home.”

Justice Vanstone said Wilson had “borderline” intellectual capabilities but had used previous prison terms productively.

“You say you realise you need to change and to put more effort into making some plans and setting some goals,” she said.

Justice Vanstone ordered Wilson serve the previous suspended sentence and imposed a total head sentence of two years, eight months and three weeks, with a non-parole period of 17 months.

Judge Soulio is renowned as a martial arts expert and kickboxing referee.

The son of an Albanian refugee who fled to Australia, Judge Soulio was known as “the godfather” among the Albanian community because of his paternal interest in their affairs.