Merciful sentence for Geelong mum over aggravated burglary, assault

A Geelong mother attacked another woman in her home because the victim’s teenage son had raped her daughter, a court has heard.

Geelong Law Courts.

A Geelong mother assaulted another woman because the victim’s teenage son had raped her daughter, a court has heard.

Serena, not her real name, avoided jail after pleading guilty in the County Court at Geelong this week to single counts of aggravated burglary and common law assault over the December 2021 incident.

The court heard the woman had been calling on a friend at a block of flats, when she overheard a phone conversation between the victim and her son inside one of the units.

The victim’s teenage son was in custody after having raped and impregnated Serena’s pre-teen daughter, resulting in a termination.

Thinking the youth was inside the flats, Serena yelled and demanded to see him, before entering the home and finding her victim sitting on the couch.

She pushed the victim to the ground and hit her over the head three times with a can of bourbon she was carrying.

When the victim tried to get up, Serena grabbed at her, scratching her arm.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Gerard Mullaly said Serena was at the time “understandably, greatly upset” at what her daughter had endured and that the victim’s son was “plainly, the target of (her) anger”.

“The sexual assault upon your then 12-year-old daughter was utmost in your mind at that time,” Judge Mullaly told the woman, stating it was a “spur of the moment, poor decision”.

Judge Mullaly told the court the victim was “plainly terrified” and was “now too frightened to leave the house”.

In her victim impact statement, the victim described the attack as “so degrading” and said it triggered her own past trauma.

She “can’t fathom how a mum can do this to another mum”, the court heard, and wished they could have sat and talked, and said she “would have listened” to Serena’s concerns.

However, the court heard the victim wanted it made clear she did not want her attacker to go to jail.

Judge Mullaly said Serena’s conduct was “dreadful” and “reprehensible” as “(the victim) was not in any way to blame for what her son did to your daughter”.

However, Serena’s moral culpability was reduced both due to her own history as the victim of abuse, a set of circumstances of “genuine and severe trauma”.

She has battled addiction and been diagnosed with mental health conditions including depressive and complex-post-traumatic-stress disorders.

The court heard Serena had been sober however she relapsed into alcohol use amid the “enormous stress” she felt following her daughter’s rape.

Judge Mullaly said given her history of trauma and deep protectiveness of her daughter, there was a “real, causal connection” between her mental health and her offending.

She was remorseful, Judge Mullaly said, and wished she hadn’t relapsed into drinking and reacted as she did.

Judge Mullaly found Serena’s exceptional circumstances warranted a merciful sentence.

He placed the woman on a two-year community corrections order including 100 hours of unpaid community work and treatment for mental health problems, alcohol and drugs.

But for her plea, Judge Mullaly said Serena faced three and a half years jail, with a non-parole period of two years and two months.

Originally published as Merciful sentence for Geelong mum over aggravated burglary, assault