Applicant Charged with Domestic Violence Applies for Bail

Re Zayat [2021] VSC 454 (3 August 2021)

The applicant has committed domestic violence against his wife and violations of family intervention orders.  The wife has also submitted his history with illicit substances.  The applicant, in his application for bail, asserts that there are exceptional circumstances to rebut the wife's assertion that he is an unacceptable risk to their children. 

Facts:

Romano Zayat was arrested on 28 March 2021 for domestic violence against his wife and has been in custody ever since. 

The applicant and his wife have been married for about 17 years. They have three boys, currently aged 13, 10 and 3.  The applicant began using methylamphetamine heavily in early 2020.  In September 2020, the applicant was arrested in respect of dishonesty offences and released on bail.  Early in January 2021, the applicant was arrested after verbally abusing his wife, intentionally destroying her office's property, and picking up his youngest son from an Early Learning Centre. 

On 13 January 2021, the applicant was bailed and an intervention order was made against him in respect of his wife.  However, he still contacted his wife by phone some 166 times. 

The applicant was arrested for breaching the intervention order and received 7 days’ imprisonment with 7 days of pre-sentence detention declared and a 15-month community corrections order.   The applicant in applying for bail once again, relied on the following as exceptional circumstances to rebut the respondent's submission that he was an unacceptable risk.  First, delay; given COVID-19 backlogs, a trial on the current offences is unlikely to be held until 2023.  The applicant submits that he may spend more time on remand than he would if the charges are proven and he is sentenced to imprisonment.  Second, residence; the applicant is able to reside with a friend and his family some two hours’ drive away from the applicant’s former family home.  His friend can provide close supervision.  Third, work; the applicant can resume his plumbing business. 

Issue:

Whether or not the applicant has shown exceptional circumstances justifying a grant of bail. 

Applicable law:

Bail Act 1977 (Vic) ss 1B, 3AAA, 4AA, 4A, 4D, 4E, 5AAAA, 5AAB  - provides that there should be exceptional circumstances for the grant of bail. 

Analysis:

If, after a trial, the applicant is found guilty of the most serious charges arising from the episode on 21 March 2021, it is likely the applicant will receive a sentence of imprisonment with the minimum term exceeding any time spent on remand.  In the domestic violence incident in January where the applicant, using his car, rammed the window at her work until it smashed.  Such an incident indicates the complainant was not only at risk within their home but also at public settings.  Furthermore, the longstanding and deep-seated nature of the applicant's illicit substance abuse compounds the risk of him committing further offences against his wife and children if released on bail.

Conclusion:

The Court refused bail, finding that exceptional circumstances were not established and that, in any event, the Court concluded that he was an unacceptable risk of committing further offences.