A man who underwent investigations in Bendigo for a debilitating and potentially deadly health condition was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court last month for committing serious sex offences.
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The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with four counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and one count of possession of child abuse material.
The offender pleaded guilty to all charges.
Judge Peter Lauritsen said sexual penetration of a child under 16 was a very serious offence.
"Although the complainant has not made an impact statement, it is reasonable to assume that your offending has affected her psychologically and that effect will not be short-lived," he said.
The man, who recently moved from another country to Australia, was known to the victim and over a period of time he added the victim on social media and began communicating regularly with her. The communications were 'flirtatious.'
Judge Lauritsen said the offender began experiencing serious seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy.
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The man lost consciousness during the many seizures he experienced, with each one being accompanied by a physical injury due to loss of consciousness.
The offender underwent CT scans in Bendigo twice in relation to his seizures.
The offender said he was sexually attracted to the victim, knowing of her age, and asked if she wanted to be in a relationship with him and she agreed and was told to keep it a secret.
A third party found out about the relationship and confronted the man and the victim about it, but they both denied it and the victim blocked the man on social media.
The third party told the offender the victim was young and to leave her alone. A short time later, the offender contacted the complainant through Snapchat and Instagram and the relationship restarted.
In one incident, the man was drinking alcohol with family members at a gathering and texted the victim. They arranged to meet inside the house, pretending to go to the toilet, to kiss and hug. This occurred several times in the evening and the man continued to drink.
About 2am, the victim went to sleep on the bottom bunk in her brother's bedroom. About 6am, the offender entered the girl's bedroom, climbed into her bed and began kissing and hugging her and performed other sexual acts.
The victim stopped the man and said 'what are we - what are you doing? This isn't right'. She was concerned her father or another family member would catch them.
Nevertheless, the offender continued to perform sexual acts then left the room, before returning to her bedroom again and ripping a blanket off her and attempting to remove her pants.
The victim stopped the man, saying 'What are you doing? This is not right'. He tried to convince the victim to have sexual intercourse with her, but she refused and he left the room.
There were several other incidents involving sexual penetration of the victim.
The victim's father was notified about what had occurred and the victim confirmed it and the matter was reported to police.
The police examined the mobile phones of the man and the victim, finding text messages of a sexualised nature. The man made admissions to police.
The offender was charged that day and remanded in custody, and at the time of his sentencing had spent 309 days in custody.
Prior to this incident, the man had not committed any other offences.
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Judge Lauritsen said unlike many who come before the courts, the offender had no history of drug use and no issues with alcohol, although he did drink alcohol.
The judge said despite the nature of the offending, the offender's parents still supported him.
The man's lawyer said the occurrence of his seizures made the man's time in custody more burdensome because he felt anxious whenever left unsupervised in case he experienced another seizure and potentially suffered health complications or even died.
Being possibly deported also made the offender anxious, his lawyer said.
The offender was sentenced to 32 months jail with a non parole period of 20 months.
His 309 days of pre-sentence detention was declared as served under his sentence, and his offences were registrable on the sex offenders registry.
If you or someone you know needs support:
- Lifeline - 13 11 14
- Mensline Australia Line - 1300 789 978
- Kids Help - 1800 55 1800
- Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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