Gladstone man, Christopher James Michael Brandt, 20, pleaded guilty to having sex with two girls aged 13 and 14

A Gladstone man who grew up in Dalby has pleaded guilty to having sex with two underage girls in Brisbane’s west, resulting in one of them getting an abortion. See why he was released early.

A Gladstone man who had unprotected sex with a 14-year-old girl which resulted in a terminated pregnancy was sentenced to two years behind bars. But he won’t serve any more time in jail.

Christopher James Michael Brandt, 20, pleaded guilty in the Gladstone District Court to two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge with or of a child under 16.

The offending, which took place in early 2020 in Brisbane’s west, occurred while Brandt was 18, and involved two underage victims who he met through mutual friends.

Christopher James Michael Brandt, 20, pleaded guilty in the Gladstone District Court on two counts of carnal knowledge with or of a person under 16.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the court that on an unknown date in early 2020 Brandt met up with a 14-year-old girl at a shopping centre near Goodna, west of Brisbane, before going back to her home when no other adults were present.

It was during previous conversations online that Brandt became aware of the girl’s age.

The court heard that the pair went to the complainant’s bedroom and matters progressed that he had unprotected sex with the girl which culminated in ejaculation.

Ms Kelso said about a month later, the complainant discovered she was pregnant and when Brandt was told he promptly denied paternity and “selfishly” told her he wanted nothing to do with her.

Court documents reveal the complainant explained the situation to a social worker after an appointment to terminate the pregnancy and then a complaint was made to police.

Police obtained the terminated foetus which confirmed Brandt was the biological father.

Before this, police approached Brandt to make inquiries where he denied ever knowing the complainant.

Later, Brandt made admissions to police about having sex with the girl but lied and told them he thought she was 16.

Brandt pleaded guilty via video in the Gladstone District Court on June 21 2022.

Brandt further pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Forest Lake on January 24 who he also met on social media through a mutual friend.

The court heard that Brandt met up with the complainant and her friend and the group agreed to go back to the friend’s house to watch a movie.

While there, things again escalated and resulted in Brandt having sex with the 13-year-old in a bedroom of the house.

Ms Kelso told the court that it appeared the pair were under the influence of a substance as a subsequent text message exchange alluded to them being “f---ed off their head”.

There was continued contact between the pair before a friend of Brandt’s reinforced the wrongness of the activity which promptly ceased their communication.

The court heard the complainant was upset by this and soon after made a statement to police.

When police approached Brandt days after, Ms Kelso said “he did himself no favours” when denying any intercourse and suggested to police he was aware of the complainant’s age and was “repulsed” by her advances.

He also told police it effectively took intervention from the friend to stop the girl from progressing matters further.

Defence barrister Scott Moon told the court that Brandt, who grew up in Dalby, suffered a prejudiced childhood, living with grandparents and moving frequently when his mother was incarcerated, and also witnessed abuse in the household growing up.

Mr Moon told the court that Brandt had no criminal history before the offending being dealt with and while the matter was serious it was carnal knowledge, not rape.

Brandt’s subsequent five counts of failure to appear was why he was remanded in custody after initially being granted bail.

Mr Moon also said Brandt’s time in prison was not an experience his client enjoyed and suspected it would have been “eye opening” and enough to ensure he did revert to reoffending.

Judge Michael Williamson QC said in his sentencing remarks that the offending should be regarded as serious, particularly given there were two complainants and that one instant resulted in pregnancy and a subsequent termination.

Judge Williamson QC declared Brandt’s 238 days in custody as time served and sentenced him to two years imprisonment suspended as of 21 June.

Brandt will be placed on a Queensland Child Protection Offender Register for at least the next five years and will be subject to additional reporting requirements during that time.