Dale Migotto sentenced to suspended jail term for aiding and abetting attempted car robbery

She detailed the ongoing effects of the June 2020 incident in a victim impact statement read to the ACT Supreme Court last week, when the perpetrators' getaway driver was sentenced.

The businesswoman was leaving the Erindale Shopping Centre and returning to her BMW, which was parked outside, on the night of the relevant incident.

Dale Jaiden Migotto, 21, and his co-offenders were lying in wait for her, having decided to steal the vehicle because he thought it was valuable and it would be able to do good "skids".

Migotto sat behind the wheel of a Suzuki Swift as his companions, James Daniel Michael Holt and an underage girl, who cannot be named, approached the victim and tried to snatch her car keys.

Holt wielded a knife and the girl brandished a copper pipe at the victim, who displayed what Justice Michael Elkiam described as "significant resilience" to send the pair fleeing to the Suzuki.

Migotto then drove them away from the scene.

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All three offenders were later arrested, with the underage girl sentenced in the ACT Children's Court to a good behaviour order without conviction.

Holt, who has since died, was jailed for two years, with a 10-month non-parole period.

Following a series of criminal case conferences, Migotto pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting an attempted aggravated robbery.

He appeared for sentence last week, when the victim read a statement to the court from a remote room.

The woman said she had suffered "a mental and emotional breakdown" as a consequence of "the night I was terrorised".

She said her state of mind had been "shattered" by the incident, while she had also endured "excruciating pain" as a result of clenching and grinding her teeth from the associated stress.

The victim described the episode as "a heinous, horrendous and hideous violation of my inner self as a human being".

Justice Elkaim said the woman's statement highlighted "the most important factor that criminals do not consider".

"They consider the benefits of what they are planning, perhaps even the risks of apprehension or harm to themselves," he said.

"But I am sure that they very rarely consider the possible effects of their actions on their victims.

"These effects will always outweigh every other relevant consideration."

Migotto, a labourer, wrote a letter to the court after reading the victim impact statement, saying he was "very, very sorry".

"I feel so disgusted at myself," he said.

Migotto's barrister, Steven Whybrow, told the court a term of imprisonment was not necessary and that a good behaviour order, perhaps attached to community service, would be appropriate.

While Justice Elkaim accepted Migotto played a less serious role than his co-offenders, he disagreed with Mr Whybrow's submission.

"I think the nature of the offence, and bearing in mind the maximum penalty of 25 years' custody, demands at least a short period of imprisonment," the judge said.

Justice Elkaim ultimately sentenced Migotto to four months and 24 days in jail, with the term wholly suspended upon the offender agreeing to enter into a 12-month good behaviour order.

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