Cairns Court: Matthew Charles Knowton sentenced over rape of 14-year-old girl

A Mareeba mechanic has been sentenced for raping a 14-year-old girl he met on Snapchat and possessing child exploitation material involving children as young as five.

A Mareeba mechanic has been sentenced for raping a 14-year-old girl he met on Snapchat and possessing child exploitation material involving children as young as five.

Matthew Charles Knowton was 27 when he met the 14-year-old girl on Snapchat and invited her out to a cinema in July 2021.

They met for a second time in December 2021 when she explicitly rejected his advances.

He then took her into a tunnel and raped her.

In April 2022 police found 12 images and 22 videos of child exploitation material involving children aged from five to 12 on a phone Knowton had borrowed from a child.

The girl was assaulted inside a cinema.

Knowton was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty in Cairns District Court to one count of carnal knowledge on someone under the age of 16, two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of possessing child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage device to access child exploitation material.

During the sentencing the girl’s mother told the court: “The impact this has had on (our) family is nearly impossible to put into words”.

“She (the victim) used to be bright and cheerful, but her outlook on life has changed since the incident,” the girl’s mother said.

“She will never be the same again.

“You took parts of her personality that she will never get back.

“She showers for hours at a time to try and wash away the filth that this has made her feel. “These showers have turned into self-harm incidents that have led to suicide attempts, leading to multiple hospital admissions and ultimately dependence on medication.”

The court also heard that Knowton had himself been raped by a teacher at the age of 13.

“He had an alcoholic father, witnessed domestic violence growing up, and was bullied at school,” Judge Dean Morzone said in delivering his verdict.

“You had major issues of self-confidence and self-image.”

Matthew Charles Knowton was found to have accessed child exploitation material featuring minors aged between five and 12 while on bail.

Judge Morzone also noted the defendant had been kidnapped and tortured by masked men at age 18 over a drug debt, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder.

More recently, he was beaten unconscious, tied up, and had his dog shot and killed – once again over a drug debt.

“You were raped at 13 by male teachers; at 15 he was forced to watch another minor being abused when his mother was away,” Judge Morzone said as Knowton – appearing by video link from Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre – began to weep.

“Now, another person has been treated in the most horrible sexual way, this time at your hands.

“So, in some rather strange, ironic way, you should be able to resonate with what that (this) young woman went through.”

Knowton continued to cry as the judge went on: “But it wasn’t her burden to bear. That is your childhood, your upbringing, your drug-addicted way of life.

“She trusted you.”

“In some rather strange, ironic way, you should be able to resonate with what that (this) young woman went through,’ Judge Dean Morzone told the man.

Judge Morzone said Knowton’s conduct was “vile” and sentenced him to six years’ prison.

Having already spent 350 days in custody, Judge Morzone set Knowton a parole date for September 29, 2024.

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Originally published as Cairns Court: Matthew Charles Knowton sentenced over rape of 14-year-old girl