A FORMER Allansford man who torched his $1-million homestead has been jailed for after attempting to pervert the course of justice.
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Robert Conn, 71, of Ararat Prison, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool County Court. He had already served 148 days in custody before Friday's hearing.
Judge Gavan Meredith said time already served was appropriate.
He said that at the time of the offending, Conn was seeking to resolve charges against him and he tried to arrange a meeting with his former partner so they could get their stories straight.
The judge said the offending was at the lower end of the spectrum, “amateurish” and “clumsy in the extreme”.
On the arson charge, Conn was jailed for a minimum two years. He is eligible for parole on May 13.
His former partner, Roslyn Beevers, was also jailed for 30 months but has appealed against the length of that sentence.
Defence counsel Robert Thyssen said Conn gave evidence for 17-and-a-half days in Beevers' trial.
He said Conn had already served enough time for the new charge and, at the committal, his client was concerned about Beevers because her new partner had taken his own life just two days prior.
Crown prosecutor David O'Doherty said at the time of the offending Conn was 69 and had been in a relationship with Beevers for three years.
They bought the historic Allansford property, Hopkins Hill, for $1.285-million in 2010.
But by 2011 they still owed $545,000. They were expecting to receive a windfall when Beevers' mother died.
Conn was financially stretched and the couple formed a plan to burn down the homestead and collect the insurance money
The building was destroyed by fire on May 26, 2011 when Conn and Beevers were at a Geelong cinema watching The Avengers.
Police were immediately suspicious and launched Operation Dormant, which led to Conn's arrest on October 8.
Beevers took out an intervention order against Conn, but they appeared together in a three-day committal at the Warrnambool Magistrates Court in February 2014.
During the committal hearing, Conn wrote and handed notes to Beevers in an attempt to meet with her and align their stories.
He said if they could get together, they could prevent the charges proceeding any further and: “Even the fire can be solved if we are on the same page.”
Conn's fingerprints were found on a note and Beevers requested a formal police investigation.
