The Court: Dandenong Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Daniel Walsh
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was in a relationship with his partner and had been living with her and her children for two years. The client’s partner had two children from a previous relationship. Our client was the stepfather to the two children, a nine-year-old stepdaughter and a five-year-old stepson.
The allegations were that on two separate occasions, whilst the stepdaughter pretended to be asleep in her bed, the client entered her bedroom and made her touch his naked penis for a period of a few minutes. On another occassion, when the stepdaughter had a 10-year-old friend stay at their home for a sleepover, the client entered the stepdaughter’s bedroom and mistakenly made the friend touch his naked penis.
At Court:
The client participated in a recorded interview, during which he made full admissions to the offences, was cooperative with the police and their investigation, and demonstrated significant remorse. The client was subsequently charged with three offences of Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 16.
Our solicitor referred the client to a forensic psychologist for the preparation of a report to tender to the court. It was undoubtedly a complex case because the offence related to very young children.
The evidence against the client was strong, and given that the client had made full admissions to the offending, the client entered pleas of guilty to the offences. Our solicitor made lengthy submissions to the court, and the psychological report was tendered; the psychologist had linked the sexual abuse the client had experienced as a child himself to the offending, which reduced his moral culpability.
The Outcome:
Taking all these factors into account, the Magistrate imposed a nine-month prison sentence with six months wholly suspended for 12 months. This meant the client only had to serve three months in prison. It is important to note that suspended sentences are no longer available in Victoria.
Given the age of the complainants and the fact that the Court of Appeal has indicated sexual offending against children in the community should be met with years in prison, not months, this was a good outcome.
