Woman drove eight times without a valid licence

By Anna McGuinness

Aug 17, 2022

Sentenced: A 48-year-old woman had been placed on a community corrections order. Photo by Megan Fisher

A woman caught driving eight times without a valid licence has been ordered to complete community work.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Kate Gillespie, 48, of Rushworth pleaded guilty at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to 23 charges, including four counts of unlicensed driving, three counts of driving while disqualified, two counts of failing an oral fluid test and five counts of using an unregistered vehicle.

The court heard on six of the occasions she was pulled over by police, the number plates on the “paddock bashers” she was driving didn’t match, were false or there were none displayed.

She was caught drug driving twice, with oral fluid tests positive for methamphetamine.

Gillespie’s solicitor told the court she had a relevant prior history and first appeared before a court in 2017, but said she hadn’t offended for seven months.

Her solicitor said she had been passionate about teaching but after leaving the profession she fell into drug and alcohol use, which was compounded by personal trauma she experienced.

Gillespie was placed on an 18-month community corrections order, with 80 hours of community work.

Conditions of the order include treatment for mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, with all treatment hours able to count as community work hours.

Magistrate Peter Dunn denied an application from the prosecution to impound a vehicle she was driving on one of the occasions for which she was charged.

The driving offences occurred between July 2020 and January 2022 in Kialla, Rushworth and Toolamba.