by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A robber who held up a Dandenong South brothel with an imitation longarm has been jailed.
“I’ve got a gun, give me the money,” Thomas Vandersluys told the brothel’s receptionist before revealing the single-barrel weapon on 19 June 2022, the Victorian County Court heard.
The alarmed victim screamed: “You don’t hurt me I give you the money.”
Vandersluys, who pleaded guilty to armed robbery, escaped with about $500 in a waiting getaway car.
In sentencing on 5 June, Judge Andrew Palmer noted that CCTV footage showed the victim was caused “significant alarm and distress”.
The robbery was in the low-to-mid-range of seriousness, however. It was relatively short, without physical violence and the sum of money was relatively small, Judge Palmer said.
Vandersluys, now 34, had an “extremely difficult” upbringing that continues to affect him, the judge noted.
“It is no surprise that you also have a long history of poly-substance abuse, a lengthy criminal record, and serious mental health issues.”
The latter reduced the accused’s moral culpability and would make custody more onerous for him.
According to prosecution documents, he had a history of schizophrenia.
Vandersluys pleaded guilty at the earliest stage despite the prosecution case being “not without weakness”, the judge said.
He was jailed for up to two years, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
