A Bendigo man will spend at least two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual abuse of a teenage girl.
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Simon John Gibson, 52, was yesterday sentenced in the County Court to a total of four years and six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty earlier this week to three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16.
Gibson will be eligible for parole after two years and six months, and will be placed on the Victorian sex offender register for 15 years.
Judge Mark Dean said he had taken into account Gibson’s guilty plea when determining the sentence, noting this had spared the victim and other witnesses the need to give evidence and the community the burden of a trial.
Judge Dean also acknowledged that Gibson had no prior convictions and no outstanding charges.
The court heard that in 2010, Gibson moved to a Bendigo suburb and befriended a family nearby.
Gibson started spending time with one of the children.
Gibson moved house and two weeks before the girl’s 15th birthday, she visited his home to use his computer.
It was on this occasion the offending occurred.
Gibson was 49 years old at the time.
The offending was reported to police in 2016 and in January 2017, Gibson was interviewed by police.
Judge Dean said Gibson had given information to what had happened on this occasion and co-operated fully with the investigation.
But he said the offending would have had a significant impact on the victim, who had had an unstable family life.
Gibson suffered longstanding anxiety for which he received treatment and medication, Judge Dean said, and he acknowledged that the hardship of prison would compound this.
He said reports from psychologists indicated that Gibson had “appropriate insight” into his offending.
He considered Gibson to be at low risk of re-offending and of having good prospects for rehabilitation.
But Judge Dean said the sentence had to deter other similar-minded individuals from committing such offences, as well as punish the offender.
He said the significant age gap between Gibson and the victim illustrated the grave nature of the offending.
Gibson previously worked at two universities and in the Commonwealth public service.
Judge Dean noted that had Gibson not pleaded guilty, he would have faced a sentence of six years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years.
The maximum sentence for sexual penetration of a child under 16 is 10 years’ imprisonment.