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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Hannah Neale

Robbery victim 'afraid to live in own home' after attack

Two men have been sentenced to time behind bars for a month-long crime spree which included stealing two French bulldogs.

The crimes also included one of the men attacking a family in their home and forcing them to unlock a safe containing firearms.

Justice Louise Taylor sentenced the younger man, aged 18 at the time of the July 2022 offences, to more than six years' jail time with the non-parole period ending in March 2026.

The other man, aged 19 at the time, received four-years-and-eight-months imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in December 2024.

Both men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had previously pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including aggravated robbery, arson and riding in or driving a stolen car. In an ACT Supreme Court judgement published on Wednesday, Justice Taylor said the crimes could be "described as a spree of offences".

On July 10, 2022, the younger offender messaged a child about buying a vape.

When he arrived at the child's home, the 18-year-old and a different co-offender pushed into the residence and pointed a gun.

The child ran to his parent's bedroom and locked the door but the men followed and kicked the door before gaining access and assaulting to boy's father and mother.

The father then complied with demands to open a safe in the house which contained firearms and ammunition.

The men stole six firearms before leaving the home.

On July 18, the two teens stole an Audi RS4 and two French bulldogs, named Prince and Pricilla, from a home in Garran.

One of the offenders was filmed with one of the stolen dogs in his lap saying: "This 10-grand French bulldog is now a hostage".

Police later recovered the dogs and returned them to their owner.

The father who was attacked in his home filed a victim impact statement to the court.

According to the judgement, his neck was fractured in the assault and he now suffers severe pain.

"His doctor has told him he will have to live with this pain for the rest of his life and that it will likely worsen with age," the judgement reads.

This has also placed "significant financial strain on the family" with medical costs and the father having been put on "light duties" at work.

"[The mother] described being 'afraid to even live in [her] own home', and often wakes up at night 'in a sweat and crying'."

The child now suffers from depression, anxiety attacks and has "cut himself off from all friendships".

The teens were also involved in multiple car thefts across Canberra, including a Ford Focus which was lit on fire and struck with poles.

One of the victims had armed himself with a rake when a loud crash from the garage had woken him.

He was then attacked with a baseball bat.

The ACT Supreme Court, where the men were sentenced. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong
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