March 20, 2014
A man who wrote graffiti on the door of the Catholic Church in Kingaroy has been told by Magistrate Mark Bucknall there are other ways to vent his anger over child sexual abuse.
Victor James Trimmer pleaded guilty in Kingaroy Magistrates Court today to one count of wilful damage.
Mr Bucknall said the words would have caused the parishioners of St Mary’s distress.
He said Trimmer may well hold strong views about what had happened in some people’s lives.
“And in my own life, too,” Trimmer interjected.
“But this is not the way to react. There are other ways to vent your anger but not this way,” Mr Bucknall continued.
“Have you thought about giving evidence to the Commission of Inquiry? Agitate, get political about it.”
Trimmer indicated there was little point as the priest involved was dead but he admitted that what he had done was “completely unacceptable”.
He was placed on 12 months probation and ordered to perform 60 hours community service. A conviction was recorded.
Students from St Mary’s Catholic College, who were on a school excursion to the courthouse, were present when Trimmer was sentenced.
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A man who has eight previous convictions for unlicensed driving – and until recently had never held a licence – pleaded guilty in Kingaroy Magistrates Court today to driving without a licence.
Anton Franz Markart, 34, was pulled over by police doing patrols in Kingaroy on February 1.
Police Prosecutor Sgt Wayne Bushell said Markart also had a previous conviction for drink-driving.
Solicitor Caroline Cavanagh, for Markart, admitted her client had an appalling traffic record.
“For a bloke that doesn’t have a licence, that’s an understatement,” Magistrate Bucknall replied.
He asked why he should not send Markart to jail.
Ms Cavanagh said most of Markart’s convictions were before 2009 and since then he had taken over full-time care of his daughter. And he had finally got a licence … in February.
“The one redeeming factor is he’s finally got his licence,” Mr Bucknall said.
“I wasn’t bluffing when I said I was considering a period of imprisonment. I had already filled out the form …”
But Mr Bucknall said there was a “glimmer of hope” so he would give Markart the benefit of the doubt.
He ordered Markart pay a $1000 fine and disqualified him from driving for one month.
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An 18-year-old man was fined $350 in Kingaroy Magistrates Court today after pleading guilty to producing cannabis, possessing cannabis and possessing drug utensils.
Scott Lee Stuchbury, from Wooroolin, admitted fertilising and watering the 1m to 2.5m tall cannabis plants that police found growing alongside his house.
Solicitor Mark Werner, for Stuchbury, said his client suffered from depression and anxiety, and used cannabis for pain relief.
Stuchbury’s mother, Catherine Ann Stuchbury, 48, later pleaded guilty in the same court to permitting a place to be used for commission of a crime.
Sgt Wayne Bushell said Catherine Stuchbury had told police she knew her son was growing the cannabis plants and was smoking cannabis in the house, but she thought it was better that he smoked it at home rather than hang out with bad friends.
Magistrate Mark Bucknall said he would expect a better standard from a parent, particularly as cannabis use had been implicated with schizophrenia and other mental health issues. It also dulled people and made them lose their motivation.
“You are encouraging him by allowing him to do it,” he said.
He fined her $300. No conviction was recorded.
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A man charged with murder following the death of 26-year-old Renee Todd in Kingaroy last April appeared briefly in Kingaroy Magistrates Court today by videolink from Maryborough Correctional Centre.
Counsel for Glen Brian Duggan told the court he would be seeking to cross-examine four witnesses at a committal hearing.
Magistrate Mark Bucknall remanded Duggan to appear via videolink for committal hearing on May 6.
