Toni Sese jailed for intentionally crashing car into pole, injuring daughter

A western Sydney father, emotional after reading his daughter’s diary, drove a car into a power pole leaving his child seriously injured and hospitalised for two weeks.

Mamre and John Roads, St Marys,

A western Sydney father of six, who crashed a car with his daughter in the front seat after he became upset from reading her diary, has been jailed.

Toni Sese, 51, of St Marys was sentenced in Penrith District Court for causing grievous bodily harm with intent after he was found guilty by a jury in April.

A previous charge of attempted to murder was withdrawn after the same jury found him not guilty.

Despite the outcome of the trial Sese maintains he is innocent and the crash was an accident because he was “exhausted”.

Police facts tendered to the court state on the evening of January 30 in 2020, Sese and his daughter, aged 22, had arranged to farewell a friend from the airport.

The matter was dealt with at Penrith District Court

His daughter began driving a Mazda hatchback to the airport from St Marys, but as they reached Hurstville, Sese told his daughter he was “too emotional” to go to the airport and started crying, directing her to pull over at a pub in Rockdale to “have a conversation”.

It was during this 30-minute period at the pub when Sese apologised to his daughter for reading her diary and expressed his sadness at what was written.

While the court did not hear specific detail of the diary’s contents Judge Beckett alluded to it containing “apparent reference to a secret” as well as comments about the daughter’s disappointment in Sese.

The pair then decided return home, with Sese now driving.

His daughter reported Sese started crying, became “much more emotional” and “started saying he kind of wanted to die” before he missed the turn off toward the family home.

Sese then pulled over at a BP service station where he hugged his daughter and said he loved her and “wanted to be a better person”.

They then continued driving and approached an intersection of John Road St Marys with a speed limit of 60km/h.

At this point, Sese’s daughter described herself “looking at a different person” with her father looking “determined,” “not as emotional” and “scary”

He then drove the Mazda into a wooden power pole without braking causing the rear of the car to lift into the air momentarily ,the airbags to be deployed, the bonnet to lift and the front windscreen and front of the car to smash.

Following the crash Sese was seen walking from the wreckage and was recorded as being emotional at the scene and making inquires about his daughter’s welfare.

The 22-year-old woman was taken to hospital by ambulance where she was admitted for two weeks and underwent two surgical procedures.

Her injuries included significant fractures to her left arm, degloving to her right hand and a sprained ankle.

Judge Beckett accepted the act was not premeditated.

“I do accept that when he drove deliberately around the block he was having some suicidal ideation but I cannot find beyond reasonable doubt that he had formed the intention either at the pub or at the BP to cause grievous bodily harm”.

The court heard Sese came from a background of deprivation and significant trauma which the Judge accepted was a “pathway” to the offending.

The court also heard leading up to the offence Sese had been diagnosed with a kidney condition which had impacted negatively on his mental state and was being hassled by debt collectors.

A letter tendered to the court written by the victim, indicated she had a close relationship with her father despite the incident.

The victim wrote her father was “a kind and hospitable person” “a hard worker” and “good provider for the family,” and she no longer believes he’s a threat to her or the community.

Similar sentiments were echoed in an affidavit written by Sese’s eldest son who wrote while his father “was never perfect” he has never threatened him and has always gone about life trying to help.

Toni Sese was sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment with a non parole period of 13 months and will be eligible for release in 23 October 2023.