Robert Tuipulotu jailed for aggravated burglary in Corio

A father of one threatened to slice a Corio couple up with a machete and then forced them to strip naked during a drug-induced bender.

Robert Tuipulotu has been jailed for role in terrifying burglary.

A dad has been jailed after he pointed a gun at a Corio couple, threatened to slice them up, and forced them to strip naked following a bender.

Robert Tuipulotu, 27, was sentenced in the County Court in Melbourne to a minimum of three years and six months on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, common law assault, making threats to kill, and theft.

The court heard Tuipulotu had been using cannabis, ice, alcohol and GHB and had not slept for days prior to the assault.

Tuipulotu, along with two other co-accused, broke into a house in Corio through a broken window at 6.30am on December 17, 2022 before assaulting the victims, who were known to Tuipulotu.

The court heard during the assault, Tuipulotu was holding a firearm and demanded the man hand over his phone, drugs, and car keys.

Tuipulotu then threatened to stab the male victim and shoot him if he moved.

At one point, Tuipulotu threatened the male victim with a machete and said: “Want me to slice you up?”.

He also threatened the victims with a steak knife.

During the altercation, Tuipulotu and the co-offenders forced the two victims to strip naked, told them to lie down on the bed, and held them at gunpoint before ransacking a room in the house and fleeing the scene.

In a victim impact statement, the male victim said that he had been shaken by the event and no longer feels safe.

The court heard he had to move and has found it difficult to find housing and “wakes up every night thinking about whether it will happen again”.

The court also heard the victim has hot sweats and does not know “how to find the words for how this has made [him] feel”.

In sentencing, Judge Sandra Davis noted Tuipulotu had a disadvantaged family background comprising early childhood neglect.

She said both past and current offending had taken place in the context, and partially as a result, of this disadvantage and deprivation.

“You are a relatively young man with serious cognitive, psychological and behavioural difficulties,” Judge Davis said.

Tuipulotu was sentenced to a total of five years and three months in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and six months.

Originally published as Robert Tuipulotu jailed for aggravated burglary in Corio