Thomas Vandersluys fronts court for robbing a Dandenong South brothel

A man rocked up as a client to a brothel in Dandenong South and came out $500 richer after threatening a worker with an imitation firearm.

A worker at Dande Bells Asian brothel in Dandenong handed over $500 to Thomas Vandersluys after he threatened her with an imitation firearm.

A Melbourne man who approached a brothel madam and told her was carrying a gun before making off with $500 has been jailed.

Thomas Vandersluys was ordered to serve a minimum of 18 months before being eligible for parole when he appeared for sentencing in the County Court on Thursday on a charge of robbery.

Judge Andrew Palmer said Vandersluys rang the doorbell of the Dande Bells Asian brothel in Dandenong South on June 19, 2022 and spoke to a female receptionist who asked him to take a seat.

Shortly after, Vandersluys came back up to the reception counter and told her “I’ve got a gun, give me the money” and showed her a single barrel imitation firearm.

She screamed “You don’t hurt me, I give you the money”. Judge Palmer said Vandersluys grabbed about $500 in cash, ran outside and drove off in a waiting car.

He was arrested on July 8, 2022 and in May this year, Judge Palmer indicated that if he pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery, he’d impose a sentence of not more than two years imprisonment.

A worker at Dande Bells Asian brothel in Dandenong South handed Thomas Vandersluys $500 in cash after she was threatened with an imitation firearm.

Vendersluys accepted that indication and pleaded guilty for a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail.

Lawyer referred to a number of comparable cases involving armed robberies with imitation Judge Palmer said where the seriousness of the offending was not high and the mitigating factors were sufficiently weighty, a sentence of two or three years was not out of range.

“I find your offending to be in the low to mid range of seriousness. It appears from the CCTV footage that you caused significant alarm and distress to her.

“However, your offending was for a relatively short duration, there was no actual physical violence and the amount of money you took was relatively small.”

The judge said Vandersluys has had an extremely difficult upbringing which continued to affect him.

It was no surprise, he said, that Vandersluys have also had a long history of polysubstance abuse, a lengthy criminal record and ongoing and serious mental health issues.

Given that he was not until recently declared fit to stand trial, Judge Palmer said he accepted that his guilty plea was made at the earliest reasonable opportunity

Vandersluys has already served 698 days as pre-sentence detention.