Burglar Patrick John McInerney, 27, sexually abused sleeping woman

It’s a woman’s worst nightmare – you wake up in the middle of the night to someone uninvited in your house, sexually abusing you. And it happened to one Central Queensland woman.

Patrick John McInerney, 27, sexually abused a sleeping woman.

It’s a woman’s worst nightmare – you wake up in the middle of the night to someone uninvited in your house, sexually abusing you.

A nightmare that came true for one Woorabinda woman, as Emerald District Court heard on Thursday.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey said 27-year-old Patrick John McInerney entered the woman’s Woorabinda residence via an unlockable window at 3.15am on June 30, 2022.

He said McInerney then took off his shoes and walked around the house, finding the victim asleep in the loungeroom.

The intruder then touched her inner thighs before using his fingers to rub her genitalia over the top of her pyjama bottoms.

Mr Godfrey said she woke up to this and, “unsurprisingly, screamed and shouted”: “what the hell are you doing?”.

She threatened to phone the police if McInerney did not leave but he backed towards the window and yelled, “don’t worry sister, I’m going out the back now” and left.

Mr Godfrey said McInerney’s criminal record did not contain any convictions for sexual offences, but “he has consistently offended while subject to court orders”.

Judge Rosenberg said McInerney, who was on a suspended sentence at the time of the offence, had an extensive criminal record for a person his age.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said her client had completed Year 12 but had a limited work history as he had spent most of his adult life in custody.

She said he wanted to apologise to the victim and said “it’s the most stupidest thing he’s ever done”.

“It was opportunistic offending,” she said.

“He came in and found her there and decided to do what he did.”

McInerney pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and sexual assault and was sentenced to 2.5 years prison, cumulative of the 12 months remaining of his suspended sentence.

He was given parole eligibility on October 1, 2023, after 295 days presentence custody was declared.