Elderly South-East man jailed for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl in the 80s

An elderly man has been jailed for unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl in a footy club shed after a judge ruled he could not expect to avoid punishment.

An elderly man from SA’s South-East who had unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl during the 1980s – before hugging and leaving her in a shed – has been jailed.

Neil Alan Watson, 70, was sentenced in the Adelaide District Court on Wednesday by Judge Ian Press after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse.

The court heard that at the age of 33 or 34, Watson had sex with the girl on a table at the sheds of a local football ground one night in 1988.

“It was a small community and (the victim says) you were someone respected within that community,” Judge Press said.

“You saw her in the street on a particular day and asked if she wanted to meet you at the sheds at the local football ground later that week at 7.30pm.

“You met her at the sheds. You lifted her on to a table and (had unlawful sex with her).

“Afterwards you both got dressed, you hugged the victim and you then went your separate ways. She found the experience very painful.”

Watson was arrested and released on bailed in March 2020. Judge Press said he was charged in May that same year.

“As indicated, you were charged back in May 2020, so it has taken some time for you to accept your guilt. I accept, however, that your remorse is genuine,” Judge Press said.

“It is to your credit that you have shown some insight into your offending. You acknowledged that you took advantage of (the victim) and also that your motivation at the time was likely related to lust and male ego.

“(However) those internal struggles do not in any way excuse or mitigate your offending. It is regrettably all too common that this type of offending occurs because adults feel lonely or desire emotional support or want to feel better about themselves.”

Judge Press said the victim’s impact statement showed Watson’s offending has had “far reaching and longstanding” consequences.

“(She) recounted many aspects of her life including moving away from the town at a very young age, her use of alcohol and drugs and some significant mental health issues,” Judge Press said.

Judge Press said the lapse of time between Watson’s offending and sentence did not diminish the need for deterrence and would not significantly impact his sentence as crimes of this nature often carried a delay between the offence and victims coming forward.

“Children often carry the burden of the offending with them and do not complain for many years. Offenders must know they cannot expect to avoid punishment due to delay,” he said.

Judge Press sentenced Watson to two years and eight months in jail, with a non-parole period of one year and four months.