India Orchard jailed over ‘frightening’ armed robbery

A pregnant woman will become a mum in jail after she lured her ex-boyfriend into a car where he was attacked and forced to transfer hundreds of dollars, a court has heard.

India Orchard. Picture: Facebook

An expectant mother will give birth in custody after she was jailed over the armed robbery of her ex-boyfriend, which she arranged.

India Orchard, 25, appeared in the County Court at Melbourne on Friday, having earlier pleaded guilty to armed robbery over an incident in December 2020, and several assaults in the months prior against the same victim.

Judge Fiona Todd jailed Orchard for 10 months, with no option for parole.

In her sentencing remarks, Judge Todd described the sentencing as a balancing act due to a “complex factual and legal matrix”.

The court heard Orchard’s victim was at a work Christmas party on December 21, 2020 at the Peninsula Hotel in Newcomb when Orchard arranged to drop off a jumper he’d left in her car.

After getting in her car, two men, Orchard’s co-accused, ran over and opened the door.

One of them struck the victim in the chest with an extendible baton and asked: “Do you like to abuse women?”

The victim was forced to hand over his watch, ring and wallet and moments later Orchard drove towards the Bellarine Highway, into a side street.

The victim was told to send money to Orchard and he did so, transferring $750 into her account, while one of the men struck the him in the head with the baton “approximately six times”.

Afterwards, the victim was let out, given his phone back and warned not to speak to police.

Orchard and her co-accused were arrested on December 29, 2020.

She told police that the victim had owed her money, and that her two co-accused had only been supposed to “scare” the victim.

The court heard Orchard did not know about the weapon before the robbery.

Judge Todd said it was an “objectively serious” example of armed robbery, labelling Orchard’s conduct as “frightening and seriously cowardly behaviour”.

“You lured (the victim) into the car with false pretences, what unfolded was at least partly the result of your planning,” Judge Todd said.

“You were the instigator of this doomed arrangement.”

However, the court heard a number of mitigating factors had been submitted by Orchard’s defence, including psychological reports, character references, her personal history and the fact she was pregnant, which would make prison more onerous.

“You will be a very new, and first-time mother … in the harsh custodial environment,” Judge Todd told Orchard.

Orchard, who grew up in Barwon Heads, had been diagnosed with complex-PTSD due to early-childhood trauma, which justified a less severe sentence.

“You were made vulnerable as a young person by your difficult family circumstances, and this led you to seek comfort in relationships that were unhealthy to you,” Judge Todd told Orchard.

The court also heard a close friend of Orchard’s died in February 2020, which had a “profound” impact on her.

Judge Todd found Orchard’s prospects of rehabilitation were “very, very good”, noting Orchard had taken “impressive” steps towards her rehabilitation and to address her mental health while on bail.

Originally published as India Orchard jailed over ‘frightening’ armed robbery