Drag queen goes free

Updated November 6 2012 - 10:14pm, first published October 24 2008 - 1:03pm

A PART-time drag queen convicted of sex offences with two children walked free from Bendigo County Court yesterday morning.Clinton Turner, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 and one of attempted sexual penetration of a child under 16.Judge Joe Gullaci convicted Turner on all charges and sentenced him to a total of three years in prison.The sentence was wholly suspended for three years.Turner has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life.The court heard the offences took place at the defendant's unit in Bendigo, between April 1 and April 23 this year.The court was told Turner met the victims through a homosexual group in Bendigo.Police interviewed Turner on April 30.Police said Turner admitted he had met one of the victims and that they had consensual sex.Turner said he was extremely intoxicated at the time.However, during an interview with police on May 6 the defendant denied all allegations.Turner was granted sentencing discounts for a range of factors, including pleading guilty and agreeing to give evidence against a person awaiting trial for sex offences relating to children under 16.The court heard Turner was a moderate risk of reoffending.Judge Gullaci suspended Turner's sentence after finding that exceptional circumstances did exist."In my view the circumstances amount in combination to exceptional circumstances."Judge Gullaci noted that evidence suggested both of the 15-year-old victims had psychological issues before the offences took place."Their psychological issues were made worse by your crime."Judge Gullaci described the victims as "young, confused and vulnerable".The father of one of the victims said he was devastated with the outcome after Turner was released yesterday."He's broken the law."Does that mean I can murder somebody, but as long as I turn into a witness for another case I can get off?" the father asked.One of the victims told The Advertiser he would never fully recover."If something that intense happens time won't heal it," the boy said."He deserves jail."The mother of one of the victims said she no longer trusted anybody."I've lost faith in humankind," she said. Turner was sentenced to 24 months in prison for count one, which encompassed three offences.For charge two (sexual penetration of child under 16) he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.For attempted sexual penetration of a child under 16 Judge Gullaci sentenced Turner to 12 months in prison.Nine months of charge two and three months of charge three were ordered to be served cumulatively on charge one and on each other, effectively creating a three-year prison term, which was wholly suspended for three years.Turner, who lived in Bendigo at the time of the offences, now resides in Heathcote.

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