NAIVETE FUELLED 'APPALLING' KILLING

A group of young, profoundly deaf men who fatally bashed a man during a
failed burglary had committed the "appalling" crimes partly as a result of
their naivety, a Victorian Supreme Court Judge said yesterday.

Justice Bernard Teague said the men invaded the Hoppers Crossing home of
Craig Higgs, the son of a convicted drug dealer, in the mistaken belief
that they would find millions of dollars in drug money.

Benjamin Masters, 21, Matthew Caffery, 18, Chelsey Campbell, 22, and David
Northern, 24, were all jailed after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of
Mr Higgs.

Mr Higgs, 35, and his wife Sonya - both of whom also suffered hearing
impairment - were struck by Masters and Caffery with metal pipes during the
December 1999 raid.

Mr Higgs, the son of jailed amphetamine dealer John William Samuel Higgs,
was found after the bashing by one of his five children, and later died in
hospital.

Speaking with the aid of sign language experts, Justice Teague said the
offenders did not possess "any hint of a disposition to violence", but
rather, were "naive and gullible" - traits that could be linked to the
hearing impairment of Masters, Campbell and Northern, and to the youth and
sheltered upbringing of Caffery, the only offender who was not deaf.

"Unfortunately, a substantial degree of naivety typically affects people
suffering from a profound hearing loss since birth ... No person with a
normal balance of trust and scepticism would be likely to accept that a
family man would keep $1 million in his bedroom wardrobe," Justice Teague said.

He noted that such factors made his judgment a difficult one.

"The circumstance that these are such appalling crimes, yet that you are so
incongruously criminals, has made my task in determining the most
appropriate sentences for you a more difficult exercise in sentencing than
I have ever before experienced," he told the group.

But he added: "I do not accept that the disability of deafness can be
treated as a mental condition warranting any significant moderation of the
principal of general deterrence."

Masters was sentenced to a maximum seven-and-a-half years' jail with a
non-parole period of four. Caffery was sentenced to four years maximum,
with a non-parole period of two. Both also pleaded guilty to recklessly
causing serious injury. Campbell and Northern, who did not strike a blow
during the attack, received a maximum of three years' jail with non-parole
terms of six and four months respectively.

Justice Teague said an allowance should be made for protective custody for
the offenders, due to a "perception" that Mr Higgs' father - now serving a
jail term for amphetamine-related charges - might seek revenge for his
son's death.