Burglar needs second chance says victim, 86

When she found a burglar leaving the bedroom of her Melbourne flat, 86-year-old Helena Mackay was not the least bit daunted.

"You're a naughty boy," she admonished him. "You've been in my room ... you should be ashamed of yourself."

This week Mackay again surprised observers, urging a court to show leniency to the man, Victor Forster.

In her victim impact statement, she said: "I think it was drugs that made him do that [the attempted burglary]."

She added that, in her view, Forster "needs just to get a job ... I think he needs rehabilitation rather than punishment".

Judge Mark Dean, who is due to pass sentence today, praised Mackay's "enlightened and generous approach", remarking that she was a "member of that generation of Australians that believe in that wonderful principle [of a fair go]".

Her sentiments, he said, were "no doubt true ... in every respect".

The judge told the Melbourne County Court: "She is right, he does need rehabilitation ... otherwise the cycle will just continue for the rest of his life."

He also noted that Forster had not managed to steal anything, and that Mackay, now 87, had not suffered any emotional trauma and appeared to have fully recovered.

The court heard that Forster - who admitted five charges, was raised in a wealthy home with adoptive parents. But he had developed a drug habit that led to him committing crimes in Victoria and elsewhere.