Adrian Bux: Shepparton firebug who started two blazes near Goulburn River will get out of jail in March
A man who deliberately lit two bushfires in Shepparton – the second to “scare” his brother – will be back on the streets in five months, despite the maximum punishment being 15 years in prison. Here’s why.
Goulburn Valley
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A Shepparton firebug who intentionally lit two bushfires in fits of rage – the second to “scare” his brother – will be out of jail in March.
In a case where Judge Michael Bourke said he felt “legitimate sympathy”, Adrian Bux, 45 was handed down a shorter sentence in Melbourne’s County Court – despite the maximum punishment being 15 years in prison.
The court heard Bux had a severe intellectual disability when he purposefully started two bushfires in 2018 and 2020 close to where he was living on the banks of the Goulburn River, and not far from residential Shepparton.
Judge Bourke said Bux was high and drunk when he lit the first one and accelerated it with petrol in the early hours of March 11 2018, which ripped through bushland and needed a waterbombing helicopter to extinguish.
The second happened nearly two years later on January 2, 2020 which a drunk Bux lit with a cigarette lighter in long grass on a fire-ban day.
Both fires were started after Bux exchanged furious words with his brother, who also lived on the riverbank.
But the court heard police did not speak to Bux about the March blaze in the 22 months between the first and second fire, despite him being charged and bailed for drug possession in November 2019.
Judge Bourke said it was unclear whether police’s failure to speak to Bux was due to human error or an electronic failure in the system.
Regardless, Judge Bourke said if there was not a failure, it was “likely” Bux would have been interviewed and charged before the second fire was ever lit.
The court also heard Bux was an Aboriginal man who had possible alcohol foetal syndrome and a likely acquired brain injury from substance abuse – potentially starting with sniffing petrol as young as six.
Bux was illiterate, had a “hard and neglected” childhood, and a steadily declining IQ, currently sitting at 59 from 70 in 1998, the court was told.
“Mr Bux’s cognitive disability likely contributed to his poor decision making,” Judge Bourke said.
While Judge Bourke said Bux was still responsible for his repeat offending, he had seen him as “remorseful” and a longer than proportion sentence was not required.
“It certainly does not absolve you and does not lessen the community risk,” he said.
“(But) the delay here, while not paramount, should be seen as relevant to what sentence I impose.”
Bux was handed 14 months behind bars including the 278 days already served, plus a community corrections order to help him get on track when released.
“If you don’t obey (the community corrections order), I will re-sentence you,” he said.
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