A young sailor who was sentenced last year over the rape of a 14-year-old girl which left her pregnant has been given more jail time after prosecutors argued three years in prison was “manifestly inadequate”.
Bradley John Dorsett was posted to Perth with the Royal Australian Navy before the borders closed during the COVID pandemic, rendering him “stuck” in WA.
Prosecutors argued the sentence of three years in prison was “manifestly inadequate” for such a serious crime.Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola
Court documents state the then 24-year-old was “isolated and lonely” away from friends and family which resulted in him spending a lot of time online, seeking “casual female sexual partners”.
In March 2022, he began speaking with a girl on social media app Snapchat. The court was told that after striking up a friendship, the girl asked if she and a friend could spend the night with him, claiming they had nowhere else to go.
He agreed and met them both at a local shopping centre before taking her back to his house. He later claimed he did not know at the time that she was 14.
The documents state Dorsett then plied the girl with alcohol to achieve his ultimate goal of having sex with her, before he engaged in sexual activity with her without using protection.
The girl later told police she had no memory of the incident, but found out a few weeks later that she was pregnant. She subsequently terminated the pregnancy and forensic analysis revealed that Dorsett was the embryo’s biological father.
Dorsett was charged with one count of sexual penetration of a child of or over 13 years and under 16 years of age, and was sentenced in February 2024 to three years in prison. He was dismissed from the Navy after his arrest.
But after victim impact statements revealed how the offending had affected the girl and her family, prosecutors appealed the sentence, claiming it “failed to properly reflect the significant aggravating circumstances of the offending and the seriousness of the offence”.
“It was submitted that the circumstances of the offence committed by the respondent were particularly serious,” Court of Appeal documents state.
“The respondent, it was said, exploited the vulnerability of the victim for his own sexual gratification by plying her with alcohol and then engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse, which led to pregnancy and a termination procedure that, in turn, led to significant psychological and emotional consequences which are likely to impact upon the victim well into the future.”
The documents state that the girl’s mental health had “significantly” declined as a result of the offending.
“She feels tormented by what has occurred to her.”
The sentencing judge also did not find that Dorsett was at all remorseful for what had occurred.
Last week, the WA Court of Appeal released its findings, upholding prosecutors’ request and re-sentencing Dorsett to 4½ years in prison, backdated to his first night in custody in February 2024.
He will be eligible for parole in fewer than 18 months.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.