Arsonist set free

Man torched own home

A MENTALLY ill Lara man remains homeless after burning down the house he lived in, and avoiding a jail term for the crime.

Judge Gerard Mullaly sentenced Darren Bellis on a count of arson last week, saying the offence usually demanded a jail term but there was “unique circumstances”.

“Ordinarily stern punishment is imposed on arsonists. However, given you have a chronic mental ill-heath, many of the usual sentencing purposes have to be moderated, some significantly,” the judge said.

The Geelong County Court last month heard Bellis, 51, poured petrol through the house and torched it on April 16 last year.

The man lived in the home with his mother until her death in 2015, then assumed joint ownership with his brother.

The following year Bellis sold his half to his brother.

However the pair found it difficult to find supported accommodation for Bellis, as they’d planned, and he grew frustrated, leading to an apparent attempt at suicide by arson.

Judge Mullaly opened his sentencing comments last week by putting the crime in the context of the defendant’s lifelong mental health battles.

“You are someone who suffers under the debilitating mental illness of schizophrenia,” he said.

Judge Mullaly said he was satisfied a community corrections order, with judicial monitoring, was an appropriate sentence.

Bellis pleaded guilty to arson. He will spend the next two years on a CCO, and will need to complete various programs while reporting back to Judge Mullaly at regular intervals.