A man, whose toddler son was killed in a buggy crash on Christmas Day in 2020, has been sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six months following an appeal into his original sentence.
Christopher Browne's two-year-old son, Lincoln, was killed when the buggy Browne was driving overturned while doing doughnuts.
Lincoln was on Browne's knee at the time with no restraints or helmet and was flung from the vehicle, which landed on top of him.
Lincoln's neck was crushed and he died at the scene.
Browne pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving causing death and conduct endangering persons, and was sentenced in August 2022 to a three-year community correction order.
The sentencing judge at the time indicated that if Browne pleaded guilty a prison sentence would not be imposed. He found that the offending was objectively serious and moral culpability was high.
But the Office of Public Prosecutions appealed the initial sentence after it said a community corrections order was too lenient and a jail term should be imposed.
In the Supreme Court of Appeal in Melbourne, the prosecutor submitted that due to the seriousness of offending and high moral culpability only a prison term was appropriate.
The court of appeal accepted the prosecution's submission and agreed that only a term of imprisonment was appropriate.
Justice Emilios Kyrou said Browne disregarded the safety features and "embarked on dangerous conduct".
He said had Browne not pleaded guilty when he did he would have been sentenced to a prison term of four years with a non-parole period of two years and six months.
The three appeal judges — Justice Emilios Kyrou, Justice Terry Forrest, and Justice Maree Kennedy — took into consideration several factors while deciding the outcome of the appeal.
These included Browne's early plea of guilty, his immediate cooperation with police, his overwhelming remorse, his excellent prospect of rehabilitation, and his willingness to seek treatment for mental health conditions that had developed as a result of the incident.
In the six months since the initial sentence, Browne has already completed more than 60 per cent of the court-ordered unpaid community work.
Browne was supported by his wife in court, who is pregnant with their child.
