Brendan Taggart jailed for sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy he met online
A HIV positive man has been slammed by a judge for his “terribly selfish” offending after he sexually abused a teenager boy he met online without protection.
Police & Courts
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A HIV positive predator did not use protection when he sexually abused a teenage boy he met online, a court has heard.
Brendan Andrew Taggart, 60, was jailed for five years as he was slammed by a judge for his “terribly selfish” offending.
During sentencing, the District Court heard Taggart met the 15-year-old victim via the social media application called Scruff in April 2023.
Taggart arranged for an Uber to bring the victim, who had told Taggart his age, to his house in Lynton where he sexually abused him.
The court heard Taggart was HIV positive and did not wear a condom during the abuse.
Taggart said he was taking antiretroviral medication and therefore was unable to transmit HIV to the victim.
“Despite your confidence that you were unable to transmit the virus … your decision to engage in unprotected sex with a teenager was, nonetheless, highly reckless and selfish and deserves strong condemnation,” Judge Kris Handshin said.
The court heard the victim’s parents discovered communications between the victim and several adult men on his phone and Taggart was arrested.
Taggart pleaded guilty to communicating with the intention of procuring a child to engage in or submit to sexual activity and unlawful sexual intercourse.
“Although (the victim) did not contract the virus, he was required to take precautionary medication for a number of months, which must have been a harrowing time for a person of his young age,” Judge Handshin said.
The court heard Taggart was determined to not meet the diagnostic criteria for a pedophilic disorder and was deeply remorseful for his offending.
The court heard Taggart had issues with alcohol in the lead-up to the offending, leading to him losing his job in hospital administration.
Judge Handshin said children needed to be protected from their own sexual naivety or curiosity being exploited for the gratification of opportunistic adults.
He sentenced Taggart to five years jail, with a non-parole period of three years.
The sentence was backdated to April 29, 2023.
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