Leo Troy Brown in court for rape
A man who raped a woman while her partner slept beside her, asked her in the aftermath if they were still mates.
Police & Courts
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A woman woke to being digitally raped by another man while her boyfriend slept beside her, a court has been told.
Leo Troy Brown, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of rape when he faced Maryborough District Court on Monday, July 8.
The court heard that before the incident, Brown had gone to a home with the woman and her boyfriend after a night out drinking with friends.
Brown was sleeping in the spare room at the house, with the woman and her boyfriend in another bedroom.
The woman woke to the feeling of a finger inside her vagina, the court was told.
She initially thought it was her boyfriend, but soon realised it was not.
She then saw Brown on the right side of the bed and pushed him off, telling him to get out of the house. He fell to the floor.
In the aftermath, Brown said to the woman “we’re still mates, aren’t we?”
After Brown left, the woman called her sister and told her what happened.
A phone call was made to police soon after that.
Police arrested Brown later that day and he made admissions during an interview, saying he was drunk and had stumbled into her room.
He had tried to shift some of the responsibility towards her by suggesting it was “somewhat reciprocated”.
Judge Carl Heaton said Brown had essentially taken advantage of a young woman who had been entitled to feel safe.
Brown was born in Monto and grew up in Mundubbera and had largely been gainfully employed throughout his adult life.
Judge Heaton said Brown had managed to live most of his life in a positive and law-abiding way, save for some dated offences.
The woman submitted a victim impact statement to the court detailing how the incident had affected her and her relationship with her partner, who felt he had failed to protect her.
Brown read the statement and was remorseful, the court heard.
He had spent time in presentence custody, and was sentenced to two and a half years jail, to be suspended after six months for an operational period of three years.
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