Hayden Wade Richman interested in relationship, not sex with 15-year-old victim he slept with, court hears

A man diagnosed with autism and “severe deficiencies” says he genuinely believed a 15-year-old girl was 17 when he took her to his hotel room during an NDIS-funded stay.

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A man with autism used a government support worker to help him pick up an underage girl in state care, before having sex with her in a hotel room funded by his NDIS support package, a court has heard.

On Tuesday, Hayden Wade Richman, now 20, told the District Court he first spent three hours with the 15-year-old girl in February last year after she was dropped off at the Mawson Lakes Hotel during a retreat funded by the NDIS.

Richman, of Mawson Lakes, who denied he knew she was underage, said the next day he went to Tea Tree Plaza with an NDIS support worker and purchased underwear for the girl because she was “coming over later and texted she needed some”.

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.

Richman said he did not discuss the victim with the support worker, but mentioned she was a “girl he was talking to” and did not disclose further about how he had met her through Facebook.

Hayden Wade Richman has pleaded guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 17. Picture: Facebook

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

Richman said there were no conversations with the girl, who was in state care at the time, during the 20-minute car ride back to the hotel.

Hayden Wade Richman has pleaded guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 17. Picture: Facebook

He has previously pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse. Kelly Smith, for the prosecution, asked if the support worker stayed while the victim was present, but Richman said he asked the worker to leave early, and after going inside to pick up personal belongings, left the pair alone.

Ms Smith asked Richman if the request struck him as odd, which he denied.

Richman testified he played video games back at the hotel with the girl and another friend and later she asked if she could “lie down” and “asked me to lay with her”.

Richman said after the unlawful sexual intercourse, the victim began to act “psycho” and was “going off about stuff”.

“She was angry about random s**t and I told her to leave,” Richman said. The victim returned shortly with security and police.

Richman told the court he admitted the sexual activity to the officers, saying he was worried the victim would “lie”.

“I watch a lot of movies, cop movies, and she was angry at the time and I wasn’t getting any allegations against me … in every movie there’s a rape allegation,” he said. “She was really angry with me at the time, trying to smash stuff.

“I thought she would lie and say stuff so I thought I would be honest with the cops and tell them the truth.” The court heard Richman has autism, limited education and a cognitive impairment and has “severe and enduring deficiencies in all areas of function”.

He had a “genuine” belief the victim was over the age of consent and he was interested in dating her – and not sex.

Counsel for Richman told the court he was a good candidate for a no recorded conviction and a suspended sentence due to his autism spectrum disorder, which an expert psychology report noted made him “more likely” to have believed the victim was telling the truth about her age.

Ms Smith said Richman had told his friend he had been “holding out for sex” – a comment Richman said he had no memory making.

She said it was “a scenario of wilful blindness”. “ … We have the statement to his friend, that he had been holding out for sex all day, which is quite contrary to his evidence that there was no discussion of sexual activity or that his mind turned to the topic of sexual activity between himself and the victim,” Ms Smith said.

“We say it undermines his credibility and reliability as a witness and his belief of her age.” Ms Smith said Richman was not motivated by wanting to form a relationship with the victim, but instead to have sex with her.

The court has previously heard the victim was known by the authorities and “admitted to telling males that she associates with that she is 17 or 18 years of age”.