An ex-police officer from WA who accessed the personal details of almost 100 women using a police computer, the majority of which he found through dating websites or apps, has been jailed for six months.

Adrian Trevor Moore leaves court after an earlier appearance.

Adrian Trevor Moore, 48, pleaded guilty to 180 charges in total, including 177 unlawful computer access-related charges.

A man used the excuse he was running late for a church service when he was caught more than 40 kilometres over the speed limit earlier this year.

An American man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for causing a crash on Perth’s outskirts that killed his wife and a toddler, and injured four others.

Jerome Rubin, 61, from Massachusetts drove on the wrong side of the road in Bedfordale in March this year, and crashed head-on into another car.

Rubin’s wife Joan, 60, died at the scene, while a two-year-old girl who was in the other car, Carmen Julius, died in hospital the next day.

Rubin’s daughter was injured along with the father, mother and grandfather of the toddler.

Jerome Rubin, seen entering Perth District Court, where his lawyer described him as “a broken man”.

The District Court was told despite road signs showing the road was a single lane, Rubin believed he was still driving on a dual carriageway.

His lawyer Mark Andrews described his client as a man of “impeccable character” who had no previous traffic or criminal convictions.

He said Rubin had wanted to take part in mediation with the toddler’s family but they had refused, and Mr Andrews said his client respected their decision.

“He sits before you a broken man,” Mr Andrews told the judge.

“He’s racked with the guilt knowing he caused the death of his own wife … and Carmen … and caused serious injury to his own daughter and three other people.”

Mr Andrews said the crash was the result of Rubin’s unfamiliarity with driving in Australia and he had otherwise been an extremely cautious and conscientious driver.

Judge Michael Bowden accepted that Rubin was genuinely remorseful and that he was of otherwise excellent character, but he said the offences were so serious that an immediate jail term was needed.

He also accepted that jail would be difficult for Rubin because of his age and poor health and because he was far away from his family.

“[But] at the end of the day, it’s so serious because of the deaths of two people, the grievous bodily harm to three others and the bodily harm to another,” Judge Bowden said.

“Regrettably, a suspended sentence would fail to adequately reflect the serious nature of the offences.”

Rubin will have to serve nine months before he can be released.

A Perth woman caught selling synthetic cannabis from her Innaloo gift shop has avoided jail after waiting 31/2 years to be sentenced because of confusion surrounding synthetic drug laws.

When police raided Vivienne Hill’s Morris Place store Chuffed Gifts and More in May 2013, they seized 4.6kg of “green leafy material”, $12,000 in cash and a further $250,000 at her Bayswater home.

After an extensive analysis of the material, it was found 927g contained the banned psychoactive substance UR-144.

Hill pleaded guilty to possessing a synthetic cannabinomimetic with the intent to sell or supply. A cannabinomimetic substance has similar effects to cannabis.

She was not convicted in relation to the remainder of the material because the prosecution could not prove it was illegal.

The maximum sentence for that offence is up to 25 years jail and a fine up to $100,000, but District Court Judge Michael Gething last month gave Hill a 12-month suspended jail term and a $25,000 fine, partly because of the “significant delay” between her being charged and sentenced.

“You’ve had this offence hanging over you for a period of three years and in particular hanging over you the very real prospect of going to prison,” Judge Gething said.

The $262,000 was returned to Hill after it was found the money was proceeds of her legitimate business.

Prosecutor Hannah Milligan said the State had grappled with what was a “fairly new type of prosecution” because the law surrounding the prohibition of synthetic cannabinomimetics was different to the law surrounding other illicit substances.

Ms Milligan said the delay was also because prosecutors needed to obtain an expert neuropharmacological report to establish whether the chemical compounds were prohibited.

Hill’s lawyer Mark Andrews said his client did not set out deliberately to sell illegal drugs and went to “considerable lengths” to ensure the products she stocked were lawful, however she relied solely on information from her suppliers.

Mr Andrews said his client was not prosecuted for a majority of the material because she was charged when synthetic drug manufacturers were playing a “cat-and-mouse” game with the government by tweaking chemical compounds as soon as they were banned.

“I think it’s fair to say that most of that delay, and no criticism is levelled at the State for this because it was an uncertain area of the law, is attributable to the fact that there was some confusion over the prevailing lawful position,” he said. “So of course if our legislatures and prosecutors and courts are somewhat confused about the true position, one can readily understand how someone like Ms Hill could likewise be led into error in relation to whether a substance is prohibited or not.”

State Parliament passed new legislation in October 2015 to clamp down on the sale and supply of synthetic drugs, closing the legal loophole exploited by manufacturers.

The new laws banned the sale, supply, manufacture, advertising and promotion of any psychoactive substance that was not already captured by existing legislation.

A LEADING Perth criminal lawyer says there is “little chance” that fallen footballer Ben Cousins will be jailed if convicted over his drug charge.

Mark Andrews said Cousins, 33, would most likely escape with a fine or community order and the charge of possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply might be downgraded to simple possession.

It comes as an ex-staffer at the Teen Challenge rehab facility, where Cousins was receiving treatment, said it was likely he would be given a second chance to attend the program.

Cousins was charged with possession of 4.56g of methylamphetamine at Esperance airport on Tuesday.

Mr Andrews said the amount went beyond the 4g threshold, meaning the case must go to the District Court instead of being dealt with by a magistrate.

“At the end of the day, 4.5g is not a lot of drugs,” Mr Andrews said.”I have got clients who use up to 1g a day.”

Last year Mr Andrews represented WA Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan’s son, Russell, who admitted attempting to manufacture methylamphetamine and was sentenced to 16 months jail.

“Even if (Cousins) was convicted of possession with intent, I think it is very unlikely he would be sent to jail,” Mr Andrews said.

“It is more likely he would be sentenced to some form of intensive supervision order, where he would undergo rehab and regular urine testing for drugs, or a conditional suspended term of imprisonment which is the same thing coupled with a suspended jail term.

“If he breaches that sentence by not doing rehab or reoffending, he would likely be ordered to do the jail time.”

Mr Andrews said Cousins’ lawyers would almost certainly argue the drugs were for his personal use only.

“Because the amount is in excess of 2g, there is a legal presumption that he intended to sell or supply the drug,” he said.

“But it is a rebuttable presumption, and it has only got to be rebutted on the balance of probabilities, which is the lower standard.”

In a sign of hope for the fallen football star, a staff member who worked at Teen Challenge for eight years said it was likely the Esperance rehabilitation facility would let him return if he wanted to get better and comply with the rules.

The staff member, who did not want her name published, said returning to the program could change Cousins’ life.