Former Buddhist monk Othsa Khounsipaseuth receives good behaviour bond for indecently assaulting 5-year-old girl in waiting room of courthouse
A FORMER Buddhist monk has avoided more time in jail for criminal behaviour that deeply traumatised a five-year-old girl in the waiting room of the Elizabeth Magistrates Court registry.
A FORMER Buddhist monk has avoided further jail time for indecently assaulting a child in a waiting room at a northern suburbs courthouse.
Othsa Khounsipaseuth, 67, plead guilty to aggravated indecent assault over the incident on August 17, 2016.
Judge Sophie David heard that Khounsipaseuth was attending the registry at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court at the same time as a mother and her four young children.
Khounsipaseuth beckoned a five-year-old girl over and began touching her over her clothes.
He was arrested six months later in March 2017 and was remanded in custody for more than a month.
He was released on home detention bail on May 9 and from September was on basic bail.
Khounsipaseuth had trained to be a Buddhist monk in his home country Laos until he was 21, after which he became a surveyor and moved to Australia in 1991.
The court heard he had no similar convictions for sexual crimes and only driving offences on his criminal record.
A victim impact statement read to the court reflected the stress placed upon the victim’s mother following the incident.
However, despite the “ongoing” affect of the offending, Khounsipaseuth’s team asked for no conviction to be recorded against the man.
“Your counsel urges the court to proceed without conviction on the basis that you are unlikely to commit such an offence again,” Judge David said.
“However, your offending, although short in duration, has had a profound impact on the victim.”
Judge David ordered that Khounsipaseuth be convicted but released on a good behaviour bond with the six weeks in custody seen as time served.