A judge has raised concerns about the lack of drug rehabs, housing support and employment programs in rural areas while sentencing a man who has spent more than half of his adult life in jail.
Jaylan Doolan, 22, was on Thursday sentenced to at least one year and one month in jail for assaulting a woman and stealing her car in Orange, central western NSW, on New Years Eve in 2024.
He was initially charged with a more serious offence after police alleged he used a samurai sword to threaten the victim, but a NSW District Court jury rejected that evidence during a trial in March.
The jury instead convicted him of a lesser theft charge, finding the assault amounted to an order that she get out of the car.
Doolan has spent 57 per cent of his adult life in jail, while also serially disobeying court orders and supervision in the community, a sentencing hearing was told.
His most recent breach of corrective orders was in 2024, when he sent violent text messages to a woman threatening to burn her house down and kill her.
But since his arrest in December 2024 he has engaged in a drug rehab program in jail, made positive changes and wants to work as a traffic controller in far western NSW upon his release, his solicitor told the court.
Judge Penny Musgrave said she "desperately" hoped that was possible, but there were well-known obstacles with rehabilitation in rural areas.
"Are there places for him to be reformed?" Judge Musgrave asked.
"Absolutely everyone who leaves custody should get support; housing, therapy, drug and alcohol support.
"Will it happen?"
Judge Musgrave said Doolan's history of offending and breaches were in the context of drug use.
He began using drugs as a teenager after the death of his father and continued to self-medicate to deal with unresolved grief, she said.
While Doolan needed to learn the consequences of his actions through a full-time jail sentence, the judge said he was young and at risk of being institutionalised.
She urged him to connect with parole authorities who could support him to continue with the drug program, undergo therapy and join employment programs.
"He's ... at the start of his life and should be given the opportunity to change and reform," Judge Musgrave said.
She set a maximum term of two years and two months, with his non-parole period expiring in September.
