Man sentenced for sex with girl, 14, at Gladstone motel

A Queensland man who claimed he had “consensual” sex with a girl in her early teens multiple times won’t spend a day in jail due to “exceptional circumstances”. *Distressing content.

A man has been sentenced after he had sex with a 14-year-old girl at a Gladstone motel. Generic image.

A man who had unprotected sex with a 14-year-old girl three times in a Gladstone motel room has escaped jail time due to his “moderate” disability and “anxiety”.

Joel David Henry Bradbury, 23, pleaded guilty in the District Court at Gladstone to three counts of carnal knowledge.

The court heard the offences happened in 2019 when he was 19.

It was told the Townsville man had known the girl for a few years and they had communicated online but for a period they had stopped communicating until just prior to the motel incidents.

In late 2019, Bradbury invited the girl to the Gladstone motel room where he was staying.

The court heard that the girl had told him she was “about 17”, but when she arrived at the motel, he “knew that she was clearly younger than that.”

The court was also told that after she arrived, there were various conversations followed by intimacy, including kissing and the removal of clothes.

Bradbury asked the girl if she wanted to have sex and the girl “said yes”, the court heard.

“There was then some foreplay before there were three acts of sexual intercourse,” Judge Craig Chowdhury said.

The court heard Bradbury did not wear a condom and while he did not ejaculate, there was still “a huge risk”.

It also heard he had no criminal history and the maximum penalty for the offence was 14 years in jail.

Ultimately, Judge Chowdhury said he was satisfied that due to the unique circumstances of the case, as well as the contents of a psychological report, there were “exceptional circumstances” which meant he did not have to sentence Bradbury to actual imprisonment.

“Clearly the psychologist considers upon the testing, that you have a moderate intellectual disability, coupled with a generalised anxiety disorder,” Judge Chowdhury said.

The court heard Bradbury was currently receiving NDIS support and he had family members in court to support him and they had travelled from Townsville to be there.

Before handing down sentence, Judge Chowdhury noted Bradbury had not offended since these incidents.

Bradbury was placed on two years’ probation.

No conviction was recorded.