Khale Sullivan jailed for refusing to wear face mask, comply with public health orders

A ‘defiant’ man has been jailed for repeatedly refusing to wear a mask on a number of occasions before catching a train out of Sydney “going home to Victoria”.

A “defiant” homeless man has been jailed after he repeatedly refused to wear a mask and travelled to the Southern Highlands from Sydney.

Khale Sullivan, 29, appeared via video link in Picton Local Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to eight charges, most of which related to defying public health orders.

The court heard Sullivan was arrested at 8.45am on July 8 for not wearing a fitted face covering at Central Railway Station in Central Sydney and behaving in an offensive manner. He was also charged with resisting police in the execution of their duty and not making his ticket available to an inspector.

Following the incident, the court heard Sullivan was fined $175 and sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order. The address he gave police for the court order was in Woodbine in the Campbelltown region of Sydney, according to court documents.

Khale Sullivan appeared in Picton Court House on July 13, 2021. Picture: Google

The following day, the court heard he was busted again for not wearing a face mask in World Square in Sydney.

The court was told Sullivan was still on the same good behaviour bond on July 11 when he boarded a train to the Southern Highlands, despite the public health order directing Sydney residents to stay at home.

Police documents reveal they were called to Exeter General Store by concerned residents who told police Sullivan had been trying to break into the store and had threatened them.

Court documents state police found Sullivan staring into the window of a car, holding a wooden peg taken from the nearby train station. Police also found a garden tool on his person, which they suspected was stolen.

When police asked Sullivan why he had left the Greater Sydney area, he told them he was “going back home to Victoria”, according to court documents. Documents state he told them the Sydney address he had given police previously was false.

Sullivan’s lawyer told the court there is an exemption for people moving home, although he acknowledged his client’s itinerary was “not the most conventional means of doing so.”

The police prosecutor said Sullivan’s continuous disregard for public health orders posed “a serious health risk to the community.”

She noted it was the third breach of a Covid safety order and said the prior punishments had not been sufficient to deter Sullivan from repeatedly reoffending in a short period of time.

“The offending would appear, from the accused’s record, to be escalating,” she said.

Witnesses saw Khale Sullivan throw a dog bowl at the window of the Exeter General Store.

Magistrate Mark Douglass agreed that refusal to comply with the public health orders is an issue of paramount importance.

“He appears to be quite defiant in relation to his obligations under the public health act,” he said.

“My role is to prevent him from doing this in the future by adequately deterring him.”

Magistrate Douglass said the sentencing report showed no signs of mental illness, which led him to conclude Sullivan “is just being defiant”.

Police facts state Sullivan is homeless and has a history of violence in Victoria, with 80 charges of serious offences including assault and making threats to kill.

The magistrate took his history into account when he sentenced Sullivan to three months in jail.

“Hopefully when you get out, you realise the rules in relation to face masks are important and that’s why they’re in place,” he told Sullivan.