A man originally charged with the sexual touching of a 4-year-old girl has sprinted from the front of Batemans Bay Courthouse after being given a two year good behaviour bond.
We are prevented by law from naming the 22-year-old offender to protect the identity of the victim.
He was due to face a hearing yesterday for one count of sexual touching of a child under ten but last minute negotiations between his legal team and the DPP’s office resulted in the offence being change to assault.
He then pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced.
Batemans Bay Local Court was told the offence occurred last year in the garden of the victim’s home.
His barrister Joseph Klarica told the court his client had lost his job after news of the charge was made public.
He handed up medical records and a letter of apology to Magistrate Bryan Robinson.
Mr Klarica said his client lived at home with his mum and dad and had some intellectual issues.
“This is an isolated matter at the lower end of the scale,” he said.
“He is truly remorseful, his risk of recidivism is low and a conviction would hurt his future prospects.”
He also said the man will leave the area and start again.
The Prosecution told the court the offence does involve some contact in an environment where she’s entitled to feel safe.
While both parties agreed the section five threshold for jail time had not been met, the crown argued a conviction should be imposed to set a general deterrent to the community.
Magistrate Robinson told the offender the charge carries up to two year in prison.
“I do find that the victim was vulnerable at the time. She was outside and should have felt safe,” he said.
“I do accept the offending was at the lower end, was completely out of character and was an isolated incident.”
He sentenced the man to a two year Community Release Order and did not record a conviction.
The order included the condition that he continue to be under the medical supervision of his GP for treatment of his mental health issues.
