Maitland James Anderson: Man with lengthy criminal history given suspended prison sentence

A Bunbury man with a 35-page criminal history dating back to the 1980s has been given a suspended prison sentence for months of offending including assault, theft and indecent acts in public. Maitland James Anderson, 56, appeared via video link from Bunbury Regional Prison in Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a string of charges over several months. He pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent acts in public, two counts of disorderly behaviour in public, two counts of breaching protective bail conditions, two counts of breaching police orders and breaching a misconduct restraining order. Anderson also pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, one count of carrying an article with intent to cause fear, one count of stealing, one count of failing to obey an order given by an officer and one count of trespassing. The earliest offence occurred on December 19, when Anderson stole a sex toy from AdultShop in Bunbury valued at $130. On New Year’s Day, Anderson was caught drunkenly trespassing at Bunbury Centrepoint shopping centre which he is prohibited from entering after security banned him and management had a restraining order in place. On February 24, he was severely intoxicated at Back Beach, exposing himself in front of families and repeatedly touching his exposed genitalia. When members of the public approached Anderson and asked him to stop and leave, he verbally harassed them, threatening to beat them with the wine bottle he was carrying, telling one member of the public “I’ll kick your f...... dog”. On March 31, Anderson was caught engaging in a sex act with a woman outside the Bunbury Visitors Centre in broad daylight, with the woman also sentenced over the incident, the court was told. When Anderson last appeared in Bunbury Magistrates Court on March 25, he verbally harassed people in the waiting room and was escorted out of the building by security, resisting and spitting in the face of one of the officers. He also drunkenly assaulted a woman he was in a relationship with at the time, punching and kicking her several times at Koombana Bay on April 5. Magistrate Stephen Butcher described Anderson’s actions as “disgraceful” and said he “didn’t care” whether his behaviour would offend people around him. He noted the long history of Anderson’s offending, stating he had a 35-page criminal record that dates back to 1985. “One has to look very closely to find significant gaps in your offending,” he said. Anderson was described as having “severely low intellectual function, made worse by years of alcohol abuse”. While acknowledging the individual charges themselves did not warrant a big sentence, Mr Butcher said counselling would not be an option as Anderson had a history of refusing any type of counselling order. “I’d be setting you up to fail if I gave you an order ... the only appropriate penalty is a term of imprisonment,” he said, Anderson was sentenced to a seven-month prison sentence, suspended for three months, and given a $3000 global fine. Anderson must stay away from Bunbury Centrepoint during his suspended sentence.