LAW Guilty Plea

Scenario 3General InformationTyson has been charged with contravening an apprehended violence order. He and his wife Charlotte have recently separated. The day they separated, Tyson became very angry and screamed at Charlotte, “If you leave, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.” Charlotte reported this to the Police, who took out an apprehended violence order on her behalf. The order included a condition that Tyson not contact Charlotte by any means.The following week, Tyson telephoned Charlotte and they got into an argument. No threats were made. Charlotte contacted the police and Tyson was charged with breach AVO. Tyson agrees that he contacted Charlotte, and that he knew he wasn’t meant to.Tyson is heartbroken about separating from Charlotte and is frequently teary when he meets with you. He is very worried about whether he will be stopped from seeing his children and is preoccupied with this problem.Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) s14:Offence of Contravening Apprehended Violence Order(1) A person who knowingly contravenes a prohibition or restriction specified in an apprehended violence order made against the person is guilty of an offence.Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 50 penalty units, or both.Information from clientTyson is 39 years old. He and Charlotte have been married for 16 years, and started dating when they were 14 years old. They have 3 children aged 13, 9 and 6.When Charlotte and Tyson separated, the children stayed with Charlotte. Despite the AVO, Charlotte and Tyson have been contacting each other regularly so that the children can spend time with Tyson too. Charlotte has initiated many of these phone calls. On one occasion in the past week, Charlotte and Tyson have spent the night together and had sex.Tyson is currently “couch surfing” and staying with various friends. He works in the local abattoir and works shift work. Up until 12 months ago, he was working as a miner until he was retrenched when the mine closed. He has taken a significant pay cut which has caused stress in his marriage.