A former prize winning dairy farmer who stole $349,400 worth of client's cattle because his business was losing money, was recently sentenced to a 15 month home detention order.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
Peter Whynn Jones, 51, originally from the UK and now in Tasmania, pleaded guilty to stealing 255 cattle between May 2019 and January 2020.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard that Mr Jones was a director of Jones Dairy 97 Dairy Contracting Pty Ltd, and through that entity he had leased cattle from three entities - Wrights Contracting Pty Ltd, Moo and You Finance Pty Ltd and Stephen Saltmarsh.
According to court documents, the offences began in 2017 and continued over several years.
Mr Jones, who arrived in Tasmania in 2012 from the United Kingdom, agisted the cattle on farms at Glengarry and at Sidmouth.
When he began losing money, Jones sold 32 cows belonging to Wrights Contracting, 203 cows belonging to Moo and You, and 20 cows belonging to Mr Saltmarsh to the JB Swift abattoir at Longford.
He also sold cows to Greenham's Tasmania at Smithton.
Justice Robert Pearce said the cattle had a value as dairy cattle of $349,400, but had been sold for slaughter for $189,000.
"You became depressed and abused alcohol. Motivated by pride, desperation and a misguided wish to attempt to recover your losses you attempted to continue the business. However you resorted to dishonesty," Justice Pearce said.
He said Mr Jones was remorseful.
"I think that your dishonesty is likely to have been the result of the desperate personal and financial circumstances you found yourself in and is unlikely to be repeated," Justice Pearce said.
"You have suffered personal financial ruin and shame."
Justice Pearce said dishonesty on the scale displayed by Jones would usually attract a sentence of actual imprisonment to reflect the considerable financial harm he had inflicted on the owners of the stolen cattle.
Other considerations were the need for punishment and to deter others from resorting to dishonesty to overcome financial failure.
The judge took into account Mr Jones' guilty plea in his determination.
"However I have decided against immediate actual imprisonment in this case for a number of reasons," Justice Pearce said.
He said Mr Jones would have lost recently acquired employment and his home if he was sent to prison and lost any capacity to repay the loss.
"A home detention order will have a punitive effect, in that it will impose a significant restriction on your liberty for a considerable period," Justice Pearce said.
"My principal concern was that, given your current personal and employment circumstances, that the order will have a sufficient punitive effect.
"A sentence of imprisonment will have no rehabilitative function and will almost certainly have the opposite effect."
Under the home detention order, Mr Jones must wear or carry an electronic bracelet and stay at the home detention premises unless granted permission to leave for an approved purpose.
He must also stay within 50 metres of the premises between 10pm and 6pm, and is under the supervision of a Community Corrections officer.
Want to read more stories like this?
Sign up below (select Dairy News) to receive our e-newsletter delivered fresh to your email in-box twice a week.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for The Examiner. My journalism career has clicked over 34 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
