Adelaide church member jailed for drunken unlawful sexual intercourse of 14yo girl in 2001

A senior Pentecostal church member who sexually abused a child in 2001 when his wife went away has finally faced court.

A church musician drunkenly abused a child from the congregation when his wife went away.

The then-29-year-old man was home alone with two of his own children alongside the girl one night in 2001 when he drunkenly sexually abused her.

During sentencing, Judge Liesl Kudelka said the man should have “known better” and was a “respected” member of the church community.

The man, who cannot be identified to protect his victim, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse – which previously carried a maximum penalty of seven years’ jail.

“You were not a young, immature adult, and you should have known better,” Her Honour said.

“Considerable trust was placed in you when the victim stayed at your place to help with the children during your wife’s absence.

“Sexual offending against a child is a serious crime.”

In her victim impact statement, the victim told the court she had “idolised” the man and his wife prior to the offending, which “tainted” her connections to religion and spirituality.

“She was vulnerable and struggling with challenges, but you made her feel deeply accepted and valued as a young person,” Judge Kudelka said.

“She feels you groomed her. You expressed undying love for her through words and song, which, as a 14-year-old, she found very confusing, scary, and terrifying.”

The girl’s family and her abuser and his family, all went to a Pentecostal church in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, where she “looked up” to the man and his wife.

That included joining the church band alongside him.

The court heard on the night of the offending, she was given alcohol and kissed by the man, who then performed a sex act upon her in a bedroom.

The next day the man kissed her at a playground while claiming he was trying to “explain” the sexual contact should “not have happened and could not continue”.

“It seems, however, you did not do a very good job of that on that day, because you ended up kissing her,” Judge Kudelka said.

The court heard the man admitted the offending after it was brought to the attention of the church pastor and to police, and made “apologies” to the victim on two occasions.

“You were told by the police that no action would be taken unless the victim or her mother came forward. It is no reflection on the victim that she did not choose to report the offending back in 2001.”

Her Honour noted the man had no other criminal convictions since the abuse 24 years ago, which was sufficient reason for a lower-than-usual non-parole period.

Judge Kudelka sentenced him to 12 months’ jail, with a four-month non-parole period.