Nakita Amy McGhee pleads guilty to setting fire to house at Honeyeater Pl, Lowood

A court has heard childhood trauma combined with the loss of her six children drove a mum to go to extreme measures.

A mother of six who deliberately burned down a $500,000 house at Lowood has faced sentence, with a court hearing of her harrowing childhood.

Judge Dennis Lynch QC took a compassionate approach in sentencing Nakita Amy McGee after extensive medical and psychiatric reports were tended to the court, revealing complex issues stemming from childhood trauma.

McGee, 32, was convicted in March when she pleaded guilty to wilfully and unlawfully setting fire to a building at Honeyeater Place at Lowood on Thursday, May 10, 2018.

Her sentence was then adjourned to allow her barrister Janice Crawford to get the highly relevant background material.

Prosecutor Stephen Kissick said the Crown sought a three-year jail term for McGee, and for the court to find that she should not serve any actual time given the contents of the detailed reports.

McGee was nervous while seated in the dock, listening to proceedings with her support person.

Judge Lynch said McGee suffered complex PTSD and other health issues at the time of her offending.

The court heard that at the time she had lost her rented house after its power was turned off, her special needs children had been taken into care, she became homeless and was living in her car.

A sympathetic neighbour had taken her in before McGee went to the house she previously rented and lit the fires.

The house had to be demolished and the owner received an insurance payout of $500,000, the court heard.

Ms Crawford said the psychological health issues and McGee’s personal history was severely disturbing, and she had endured a most disadvantaged childhood.

As a consequence she had developed mental health and psychological issues and engaged in alcohol and drug use.

She said it was not known if at the time McGee was experiencing a “dissociative episode”.

“She is not a person who flagrantly breaks the law,” Ms Crawford said.

“But she is a woman with serious mental health issues, and she is now actively addressing them,” Ms Crawford said.

Judge Lynch addressed McGee directly, saying the sentence was three years but she would not be going into jail.

He recounted the events in her life in the led up to the fire, including the power being cut off with the account unpaid and losing her children into care.

He said she had told a person she was going outside for a cigarette and soon after a fire was seen at the nearby house.

“It was a very valuable property destroyed by your acts. There were two areas of fire,” Judge Lynch said.

He noted that she was now receiving professional support for her significant psychiatric illness, was now getting a significant level of support in the community, and her children had been returned to her care.

The family was also receiving ongoing assistance through the NDIS.

Judge Lynch found that she did not present an ongoing risk to the community and wished her well.

“Thank you sir,” McGee said.