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Case file

The Record: Makaela Bacon / Bryce Cadby

An evidence companion to She Invented the Threats. He Was Arrested Twice.

Court: County Court of Victoria, Melbourne, Criminal Division.

Case: DPP v Bacon [2022] VCC 1508, proceeding CR-22-00531.

Judge: Peter Rozen.

Hearing: August 29, 2022. Sentence: September 13, 2022.

Established outcome: Guilty pleas and convictions on five perjury counts and one related false-report count. An 18-month community correction order with supervision and treatment/program conditions, plus judicial monitoring. No prison term imposed in that sentence.

Reporting basis: Analysis of the official published sentencing reasons. The court says its factual narrative derives from an agreed prosecution opening. Unchecked has not independently obtained the underlying police exhibits or interviewed either party.

Unchecked did not seek comment for this article.

The last individual case outcome verified for this Record is the September 2022 sentencing decision. Subsequent monitoring, completion of the order, any appeal and any later proceedings remain unverified. A later research date does not extend that verified case history.

Chronology

The paragraph references below refer to source R1.

  1. Bacon made the first false statement alleging family violence by Cadby. | Paragraphs 5 and 6

  2. Cadby was arrested and interviewed. Bacon underwent a medical assessment. | Paragraphs 7 and 8

  3. Bacon added the false allegation of being pushed down stairs. | Paragraphs 9 and 10

  4. The magistrates’ court granted an interim family violence intervention order. | Paragraph 11

  5. Bacon made a false report of an order breach and supplied a screenshot. Police arranged to arrest Cadby. | Paragraphs 12 and 13

  6. Bacon supplied further screenshots and signed another false statement. | Paragraphs 14 to 16

  7. Police arrested Cadby a second time. Examining his phone raised concern about fabrication. He was released pending summons. | Paragraph 17

  8. Another false statement and screenshot were followed by an application to remand Cadby being sent to Pakenham Police Station. | Paragraphs 18 to 21

  9. Analysis of Bacon’s phone identified image files titled “Fake Texts.” | Paragraph 22

  10. Bacon supplied another false statement and purported messages involving images of a house and knife. | Paragraphs 23 to 25

  11. Bacon admitted fabricating messages. Telephone record analysis corroborated the absence of the alleged exchanges. Investigations concerning Cadby ceased. | Paragraph 26

  12. Police arrested and interviewed Bacon. She made admissions and continued to assert some allegations at that stage. | Paragraph 27

  13. Convictions and an 18-month community correction order imposed. | Paragraphs 90 to 97

  14. Judicial monitoring was scheduled. This Record has not verified whether that hearing occurred or its outcome. | Paragraph 93

Sources reviewed

R1. Official reasons for sentence, DPP v Bacon [2022] VCC 1508. September 13, 2022. Full document reviewed, including the cover and numbered pages 1 through 21. Published by the County Court of Victoria and marked suitable for publication. The central source for the factual account, convictions, mitigation and sentence. Official PDF. Court announcement.

R2. Victoria Police, Code of Practice for the Investigation of Family Violence, fourth edition, version 2. Relevant sections reviewed: misidentification, physical evidence and supervisory decisions on prosecution. Used as later policy context, not as the governing 2020 manual. Official PDF. Official explanatory page.

R3. Victoria Police, Family Violence Liaison Officers. Public page updated August 29, 2025. Used to identify current stated responsibilities for coordination, quality assurance and support. Official page.

R4. Sentencing Advisory Council, First Three Months Vital for Offenders on Community Correction Orders, New Report Finds. July 18, 2017. Official research announcement concerning an older mixed cohort. No inference about Bacon’s individual subsequent conduct is drawn. Research announcement.

R5. Rachael Green, David Hopkins and Garry Roach, Exploring the lived experiences of people on Community Correction Orders in Victoria, Australia: Is the opportunity for rehabilitation being realised? First published September 20, 2020. The openly available abstract was reviewed. Full paywalled study not reviewed. Used only for the limited contextual finding described in the article. Publisher’s abstract.

Claim and evidence register
ClaimAssessmentEvidence and limit
These were documented false accusations.Established for the conduct covered by the guilty pleas and agreed facts.R1, paragraphs 1 to 27 and 92. The description is supported by convictions, rather than inferred from an acquittal or dropped charge.
Cadby was arrested twice.Established.R1, paragraphs 7, 17 and 62.
Cadby was convicted or served a prison sentence.Unsupported and inconsistent with the published account.R1, paragraph 62 says he was not criminally charged or put on trial. The remand application is not proof of a remand order.
The original medical evidence proved that no strangulation allegation could ever be true.Overstatement.R1, paragraph 8 describes case-specific findings. No universal medical conclusion is drawn.
Cadby’s disability made violence categorically impossible.Unsupported.R1, paragraph 7 records an observed limp and his account of an acquired brain injury. It supplies no categorical medical finding of incapacity.
Police suspected fabrication before the later remand application.Established chronology.R1, paragraphs 17 to 21. Who knew what when remains unresolved.
Police knowingly concealed exculpatory evidence.Not established.The underlying communications, supervisory decisions and application have not been obtained.
Bacon received no consequences.Incorrect.R1, paragraphs 90 to 97 records convictions and enforceable sentencing conditions.
The judge treated the conduct as insignificant.Incorrect.R1, paragraphs 51 to 54 and 73 expressly recognises seriousness and a role for punishment.
Mental health evidence affected the sentence.Established.R1, paragraphs 55 to 60 and 74 to 85. These are individual findings, not claims about everyone with the diagnosis.
Bacon successfully completed the order.Unverified.No later monitoring or completion record reviewed.
Cadby’s intervention order and all police records were corrected.Unverified.R1 establishes cessation of the investigation but does not give the complete administrative aftermath.
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