Maryborough’s Dorinda Louise Allsworth pleaded guilty to drug trafficking
A drug dealing mum in the midst of a high-risk pregnancy had her almost six-month meth trafficking operation come undone after police discovered “texts and tick sheets”.
Police & Courts
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A mum experiencing a high-risk pregnancy has narrowly avoided spending time behind bars after she pleaded guilty to trafficking meth.
In addition to the trafficking charge, Dorinda Louise Allsworth, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying cannabis when she faced Maryborough Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Crown prosecutor Christopher Cook said the trafficking had been carried out over just under six months, with street level amounts of methamphetamine, as well as supplying small amounts of cannabis.
Mr Cook said Allsworth had a customer base of at least 25 people, with sales generally towards the lower end of street level dealing.
The evidence of her offending had come from “text messages and tick sheets” discovered by police, Mr Cook said.
The court heard Allsworth was 16 weeks pregnant with her third child.
She also shared a child with Matthew Zane Balke, 25, who had been sentenced to four and a half years in prison in Maryborough Supreme Court on Monday for possessing dangerous drugs, among other offences.
Allsworth had been exposed to domestic violence when she was growing up and as a result disengaged from her education, before she turned to drug use, the court was told.
Despite that, she was able to gain and retain employment for significant periods in the hospitality industry, the court heard.
While she had been pregnant with her first child she had stopped using drugs, but the breakdown of her relationship with the father and financial stress had seen her “return to her old habits”, the court heard.
She had relapsed again in 2020 when Covid was causing havoc in the hospitality industry, when her work was interrupted, causing anxiety, the court was told.
But Allsworth had since stopped taking drugs, the court heard, and was on the road to rehabilitation.
She now had a new partner and they were expecting a child, although she had experienced difficulties during her pregnancy.
Justice Peter Applegarth said Allsworth’s trafficking was at a low level, but over a substantial period.
He said the evidence indicated that she sold at least $2635 worth of meth.
Justice Applegarth said she had supplied meth to help support her own drug habit.
He asked Allsworth to “do the maths” in regards to how much she paid for drugs in comparison to how much she sold them for.
“It never ceases to amaze me how little street level traffickers make for their trouble,” he said.
“You’d hardly be in it for the money.
“You’d have made more profit by delivering pizzas.”
In some instances, Allsworth had delivered to Kingaroy, Justice Applegarth said.
Dealers still had to pay for the drugs, pay for the petrol, pay for the phone and then could face years in prison, he said.
“Now I understand that what you did is not rational,” he said.
Drug addiction had driven her involvement in the business, Justice Applegarth said.
Allsworth was sentenced to three years in prison but she was given immediate release on parole.
But Justice Applegarth told her it meant she had to stay out of trouble for three years or she could find herself behind bars.
He said she was not avoiding prison because she was pregnant.
“I want to make clear, the fact that you have two children and are pregnant with another is not the reason you’re staying out of jail today,” he said.
“I don’t want you or anyone else to think that somehow the fact that you have two children and are pregnant with another is pulling some heartstrings.
“The fact that you’re pregnant is not stopping me from sending you to jail today, even though your pregnancy is at a present difficult course.
“I’ve sent heavily pregnant women to jail. I’ve sent young mothers to jail and I don’t apologise for that if that’s what has to happen.”
He said an unborn child would be better off in jail where their mother’s not on drugs than being in the community where their mother has methamphetamine “surging in her veins”.
“But I don’t want your child to be born in jail, because it doesn’t have to be,” Justice Applegarth said.
“You’ve managed it seems to rehabilitate yourself by being motivated and breaking years of drug use.
“That’s to be commended, the fact that you did it without assistance is to be commended.”
But he urged her to reach out for help and support to ensure her recovery continued.
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