John Francis Kerrigan sentenced in Rockhampton court for sexually touching teen

How an underage girl ended up in bed with a barely mobile stranger, 66 years her senior, has been described by a seasoned Queensland judge as a “curious case”.

John Francis Kerrigan, 81, parked his mobility scooter next to the bar table where his solicitor and barrister sat in Rockhampton District Court, with special court hearing aids in, as he listened to the court proceedings after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 on October 9, 2024.

An elderly man who requires a mobility scooter to get around a room has fronted court for sexually touching a girl 66 years his junior in what was described as a “strange and curious case”.

Wearing special court hearing aids, John Francis Kerrigan, 81, parked his mobility scooter next to the bar table where his solicitor and barrister sat in Rockhampton District Court, after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 on October 9.

The father-of-nine was a stranger to the victim who was visiting other people in the building he lived in at the time of the offending late last year, defence barrister Julie Marsden said.

“She was somebody vulnerable in the community,” she said.

Judge Ian Dearden said this was a “strange and curious case”.

“It’s very important to understand that the law exists to protect children, even against themselves,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter whether a child under 16 is consenting to sexual contact or not, or it’s unclear whether she’s consenting.

“A child under 16 is unable to consent to sexual contact with an adult.

“This occurred on three occasions over two separate days.”

John Francis Kerrigan, 81, parked his mobility scooter next to the bar table where his solicitor and barrister sat in Rockhampton District Court, with special court hearing aids in, as he listened to the court proceedings after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 on October 9, 2024.

Judge Dearden said the victim was lying in Kerrigan’s bed when he put his hand down her pants and then touched, skin-on-skin, her vagina.

He said the girl, who filmed the incident, called police, but did not make a complaint.

Judge Dearden said the girl attended Kerrigan’s residence four days later where two further sexual contacts took place on or around her vagina.

Police visited Kerrigan two days later and he initially denied the offending, however police located items described by the girl, and others seen in the video in Kerrigan’s residence.

Judge Dearden said material provided to him stated Kerrigan, despite coming from a large family and being married for 25 years with nine children, had no family living in Rockhampton.

He said Kerrigan’s family, which included grandchildren, were “scattered around Australia” and he had not worked since 1989 when he was involved in an accident where he suffered a back injury and had other medical conditions including heart issues and diabetes.

He sentenced Kerrigan to an 18-months prison term which was wholly suspended with a two-year operational period.