Hayden Wade Richman sentenced for sex with 15-year-old girl during NDIS-funded hotel stay

An autistic man who said he genuinely believed a 15-year-old girl was 17 when he took her to his hotel room during an NDIS-funded stay has learned his fate for the offending.

An autistic man who was on a taxpayer-funded hotel stay when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl has escaped a jail sentence and been ordered to complete community service.

On Friday, Hayden Wade Richman, 20, was sentenced in the District Court for unlawful sexual intercourse with the girl in his Mawson Lakes Hotel suite in early February 2023.

District Court Judge Ian Press said he rejected the notion that Richman was interested in a relationship with the girl, but his actions showed he had interest in having sexual intercourse with her.

“Your actions towards her and comments about her to your friend are only consistent with sexual intercourse being a matter which was clearly on your mind by the time you invited her to your hotel,” he said.

“The law requires people to make sure that they only have sexual intercourse with people 17 and over.

“The law requires people to make inquiries so that children are, in effect, protected against their own immaturity.”

Judge Press did accept that it was “more than likely” that Richman genuinely believed the girl was over the age of 17 and his moral culpability for the act was “significantly reduced”.

“I accept that she did tell you that she was 17-years-old,” he said.

“I accept that, as a result of your autism and your intellectual functioning that you are a person who is less likely to challenge her assertion that she was 17.”

Hayden Wade Richman will do community service after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 17. Picture: David Mariuz

Richman said he believed the victim was aged 17, not 15. Picture: Facebook

Richman previously pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse, but the court heard there was a genuine belief the victim was aged 17 and not 15.

The court heard that during his NDIS-funded trip to the Mawson Lakes Hotel he had purchased the victim underwear in the company of his assigned support worker.

The support worker is not accused of any wrongdoing.

While on the stand, Richman explained the hotel stay was to “get him out of the house” and he had increased contact hours, from five to eight, with support workers.

He told the court he and the support worker picked the girl up from a “friend’s” house, and they held hands during the trip back to the hotel.

The court heard that Richman posed no threat to children – or of reoffending – and the negative impact the court process had on his mental health had served as a “salutary lesson”.

Richman was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond with 18 months of supervision.

He was ordered to serve 120 hours of community service and a conviction was recorded.

Judge Press said he was “sure we won’t see you back here” and wished him luck.

Outside court, Richman’s NDIS support co-ordinator Shane Wallace – who had attended prior hearings with Richman – told members of the media: “You need to stop, you’re only making things worse.”