Daniel Edward Burnett’s sexual assault victim speaks in Qld court statement
A traumatised Qld security guard, sexually assaulted in plain sight at a pub while her FIFO worker attacker laughed, has delivered a powerful message about the lifelong scars and “broken” justice system.
Police & Courts
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A pub security guard molested by a patron who made lewd comments and pinched her nipple in front of a crowd says victims of these crimes are being left in the dark, even in this modern age.
It comes after her attacker, 30-year-old Daniel Edward Burnett, was sentenced this week for sexually and physically assaulting her at a Gympie region pub in 2023.
In a powerful victim impact statement the woman, who cannot be named by law, opened up on the traumatic experience of not only being attacked while doing her job, but also the court process that followed.
On Thursday, Gympie Magistrate’s Court heard Burnett had grabbed the guard in a “cuddle-like” grip, tried to lift her off the ground while having his face in her groin as another of his friends was “dry humping” her from behind”.
He later pinched her on the nipple when she tried to find out from bar staff whether he was still drinking after being cut off.
For this Burnett, who pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and two counts of common assault, was placed on two years’ probation and ordered to pay his victim $1500 in compensation, with no conviction recorded.
In the guard’s statement, read to the court by Police Prosecutor Allison Johnstone, she said Burnett’s actions “caused me immediate pain, especially in the nipple and breast area, and accompanied by what he said to me at that time caused me to feel disgust and nausea, like I was going to throw up”.
“The pain... persisted for a number of days,” the statement read.
“During the shock I experienced during and following the event, the nausea feeling continues even when I think about it now.
“I also suffered sleep irregularities ongoing for a few months and this comes back whenever I’m reminded of it and think about it.
“This has got worse in the last two weeks as I have had to relive the experience again.”
She said this “made it difficult to go about my day-to-day life in the days following the assault and continues to impact me today.
The assault also left her feeling “hesitant” to take on other jobs “in pubs or similar locations and as such I no longer work in the security industry and avoid hotels like where this happened.
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“I’ve had conversations, discussions, and general venting about these events which I feel has come at a cost to myself and others where I had to relive the experience and the effects on me,” the statement read.
“It’s therefore traumatic not only for myself but those who I share the burden with because they’re forced to hear a negative, traumatising events which I feel have changed me forever.
“I no longer go out and socialise in the same way.
“I feel my conversations are either so light they seem pointless or shallow.
“I am constantly rechecking myself as the feeling is now constant on how one person’s behaviour can impact all thoughts.
“I feel in social settings that I do not want to go and meet people, especially when alcohol is involved, and I do not know them as I am worried this will happen to me again.”
There had been a severe financial impact too, with the guard being forced to quit her job.
“In a desperate attempt not to let the defendant ruin my life I tried to continue in security for a short while, it only lasted a short time,” she said.
“I soon realised the stress of preparing for work and walking into a shift at a venue that was not known to me made me feel extremely uncomfortable and sick.
“This in turn led me to question my own abilities and effectiveness in being able to carry out my duties.
“I then took time off work away from security entirely and I have since let my qualifications go by the wayside.
“I totally changed jobs and have to retrain in a new industry and obtain new qualifications at my cost, to enable me to continue employment.”
The guard also delivered a harsh assessment of the procedures and communications not only involved in reporting the crime, but in seeking updates on the progress of the investigation and prosecution.
She said, “until recently I’ve had no communication or updates regarding the offences committed against me by this person”.
“I was not provided assistance on the night … I was not followed up with later in the evening when I told police I would attend,” the court heard.
“I was not followed with the following day despite being informed police would contact me by 2pm (the following day).”
“This left me constantly calling PoliceLink for updates.
“On Sunday 28th August I attended the Nambour Police Station to provide a statement.
“I then received a call back from an officer to say he was from Gympie, and he was following up with this.
“At this point I stressed to the investigating officer the fact the venue had CCTV that captured the assault.
“I later followed up with this officer again and the then informed me he had copies of the tapes.
“This was the last information I was able to obtain regarding the investigation, and then the matter had appeared to disappear.”
The guard felt she had become “inconsequential” and a “burden” and it was “OK for what he did to me just like what he said on the night”.
“I felt that the matter was being covered up and the defendant was going to get away with what he did to me,” the court heard.
“This experience has also cemented in my mind how on the night … the man in question commented ‘hey x (number withheld to avoid identification), referring to my security identification number, you’re going to remember me’.
“On this he was so right.
“I’ll never forget him.
“I remember his entire demeanour, his sense of entitlement, his arrogance, his disgusting actions and behaviour.
“The way I was treated and the way he laughed at me and taunted me.
“You often hear people say ‘well, he’s been drinking’”. Is this supposed to be an excuse?
“No woman deserves to go to work and be physically and verbally, and sexually assaulted.
“There is no excuse.
“I’ll never forget what happened and the assault makes me feel sick.”
She still felt “anxious” talking about the attack, and early on she said there was an effort to settle the matter financially with a request from his legal team “to accept $1000 to drop the charges as these offences may impact his life”.
“The fact that after all this time he can think that he can just walk away from the consequences of his actions for a sum of money and move right along, and that would impact his life,” she said.
“What about my life and how it’s impacted me?
“I feel the entirety of our system is broken if this can just be the norm and people with no moral fibre can abuse whomever they wish, whenever they wish, and cause trauma that impacts every aspect of their victim’s life.
“I was his victim and I’m still his victim.
“I did not accept this.
“I hope these events do affect his life in the same way his actions have impacted my life and anyone else unfortunate enough to come across this man.”
She was also forced to relive the assault whenever she heard media reports of other sexual assaults.
“I feel that I cannot escape what happened and what was done to me.
“I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t want it, and I certainly shouldn’t have to have this be with me for the rest of my life.
“No-one should.”
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