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A man with a decades-long history of “appalling” crimes has been jailed for more than two years after breaking a woman’s jaw, threatening her with a machete and lighting her garage on fire. Michael John Robertson, 49, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday after pleading guilty to charges of unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm, property damage and common assault. He has been in custody since November 20 last year, when he threatened the victim at her Chisholm home after an argument and struck her in the face, fracturing her lower right jaw. Court documents reveal Robertson then started the blaze and took off over the back fence. He was arrested at a nearby oval later that day, repeatedly threatening to slit the throat of a police officer as he was taken into custody. Robertson later claimed he was unable to remember what had happened because he was intoxicated. In his sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Anthony Williamson said the victim had been unable to eat solid food for six weeks as a result of her injury, which had required surgery. He said the garage was “significantly” damaged by fire, with the remainder of the property affected by smoke. Mr Williamson described Robertson’s criminal history, which dates back to 1988 and spans some 18 pages for the ACT offences alone, as “appalling”. The 49-year-old’s previous convictions include offences such as armed robbery and neglecting a child. Mr Williamson said the man had been given the benefit of lenient sentences “time and time again”, only for him to continue committing crimes. “There is now limited scope for leniency,” the prosecutor said. “Only a lengthy sentence of … further full-time imprisonment is appropriate.” In court on Friday, Robertson’s barrister Katrina Musgrove conceded more time behind bars was the only appropriate punishment. But she asked Justice Michael Elkaim to refer her client to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a mental health assessment before handing down a sentence. Ms Musgrove said Robertson had been diagnosed with conditions including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. As a consequence, she said, an assessment under the tribunal’s jurisdiction would eventually help Justice Elkaim craft the best possible sentence of “individualised justice”. Ms Musgrove said Robertson appeared to have turned his life around for several years before his latest offending, and the issue of rehabilitation was still “very much alive” as a result. But Mr Williamson opposed the proposed referral, saying it would “unnecessarily delay and frustrate the [court] proceedings”. He said he accepted Robertson had mental health issues, but so did most criminals and any impairment in this case was not such that it could be used as a defence to the charges. Justice Elkaim ultimately declined to make a referral. He said it was clear Robertson was probably suffering from mental health issues at the relevant time, but those had not necessarily caused the man to be violent. The judge sentenced Robertson to two years and 22 days behind bars, and imposed a non-parole period of 17 months. With time already served on remand, Robertson will become eligible for release in April 2021.
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A man with a decades-long history of “appalling” crimes has been jailed for more than two years after breaking a woman’s jaw, threatening her with a machete and lighting her garage on fire.
Michael John Robertson, 49, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday after pleading guilty to charges of unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm, property damage and common assault.
He has been in custody since November 20 last year, when he threatened the victim at her Chisholm home after an argument and struck her in the face, fracturing her lower right jaw.
Court documents reveal Robertson then started the blaze and took off over the back fence.
He was arrested at a nearby oval later that day, repeatedly threatening to slit the throat of a police officer as he was taken into custody.
Robertson later claimed he was unable to remember what had happened because he was intoxicated.
Some of the damage left behind by the fire Michael John Robertson lit in a Chisholm garage. Picture: Supplied
In his sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Anthony Williamson said the victim had been unable to eat solid food for six weeks as a result of her injury, which had required surgery.
He said the garage was “significantly” damaged by fire, with the remainder of the property affected by smoke.
Mr Williamson described Robertson’s criminal history, which dates back to 1988 and spans some 18 pages for the ACT offences alone, as “appalling”.
The 49-year-old’s previous convictions include offences such as armed robbery and neglecting a child.
Mr Williamson said the man had been given the benefit of lenient sentences “time and time again”, only for him to continue committing crimes.
“There is now limited scope for leniency,” the prosecutor said.
“Only a lengthy sentence of … further full-time imprisonment is appropriate.”
In court on Friday, Robertson’s barrister Katrina Musgrove conceded more time behind bars was the only appropriate punishment.
But she asked Justice Michael Elkaim to refer her client to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a mental health assessment before handing down a sentence.
Ms Musgrove said Robertson had been diagnosed with conditions including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
As a consequence, she said, an assessment under the tribunal’s jurisdiction would eventually help Justice Elkaim craft the best possible sentence of “individualised justice”.
Ms Musgrove said Robertson appeared to have turned his life around for several years before his latest offending, and the issue of rehabilitation was still “very much alive” as a result.
But Mr Williamson opposed the proposed referral, saying it would “unnecessarily delay and frustrate the [court] proceedings”.
He said he accepted Robertson had mental health issues, but so did most criminals and any impairment in this case was not such that it could be used as a defence to the charges.
Justice Elkaim ultimately declined to make a referral.
He said it was clear Robertson was probably suffering from mental health issues at the relevant time, but those had not necessarily caused the man to be violent.
The judge sentenced Robertson to two years and 22 days behind bars, and imposed a non-parole period of 17 months.
With time already served on remand, Robertson will become eligible for release in April 2021.
