26 Sunshine Coast men and their abusive crimes revealed in court
These are the men who have faced Sunshine Coast courts for crimes including violent assaults or holding heinous child abuse material.
Police & Courts
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Horrific assaults against women or heinous messages about child abuse are some of many factors involved in offences heard in Sunshine Coast courts.
These are the men who have recently been sentenced for their crimes.
See the list:
Yufu Tian
Yufu Tian’s victim was frozen in fear when the Chinese national sexually assaulted her under the guise of a massage on February 9, 2023, at the Sunshine Plaza.
The Maroochydore District Court was told how the 69-year-old Palmview man groped the woman’s breasts for almost half a minute until she told him to stop.
The fallout of the indecent incident was retold on December 12, 2024, after Tian pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault, with the help of an interpreter.
Crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks said Tian was working in an unofficial capacity at the massage business when the victim arranged for a hot stone massage.
During the session, he suddenly removed her towel and exposed her left breast, which he began to massage.
Tian then took the towel off of her other breast and groped both with “some force and speed” until she demanded he stop and covered herself.
Defence barrister Mark Dixon said Tian accepted his actions were wrong and felt he brought shame upon his family.
Tian was jailed for nine months, suspended immediately for 18 months.
Chris Papastergou
Chris Papastergou remained silent on video link in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on September 30, 2024, as Magistrate Chris Callaghan read the details of his terrifying assault.
He pleaded guilty to four charges including assault occasioning bodily harm, possessing meth and unlawfully using a car.
Mr Callaghan told the court Papastergou entered a woman’s bedroom about 6pm on January 13, 2024, got on top of her on the bed and began punching her repeatedly in the head.
He said Papastergou, trying to prevent her triple-0 call, forced her into the bedroom ensuite and threw her against the wall, causing her to slam against a towel rack.
Defence lawyer Cherisse Brees said her client worked as a truck driver and regularly attended church with his father.
Mr Callaghan activated Papastergou’s suspended sentence in addition to his sentence for these matters, which totalled 26 months in jail.
Having served about one third already in pre-sentence custody, Mr Callaghan granted him immediate release on parole.
Glen Michael Stair
Glen Michael Stair was fined in Maroochydore Magistrates Court in November, 2024, after breaching the terms of his child sex offending reporting obligations.
Stair was jailed in July, 2023, for two-and-a-half years and released immediately with supervision after he spent 255 days on remand, following his pleas of guilty to five charges of possessing, accessing and transmitting child abuse material.
Maroochydore District Court heard during a previous sentence hearing how Stair accessed child abuse material between September 2020 and October 2021.
Commonwealth prosecutor Mathew Thompson said Stair had 5366 files possessed across seven devices.
During his sentencing in November, police prosecutor Tara Miles said Stair failed to comply with his reporting obligations on September 1 and November 4 where he did not complete a periodic report or report a change in personal living details.
He pleaded guilty to both charges, with duty lawyer Michael Robinson telling the court this was the first time Stair had breached.
Mr Robinson told the court the 49-year-old left his Meridan Plains unit due to his flatmate going to drug rehab, and also had difficulty interpreting his reporting obligations.
Magistrate Chris Callaghan fined Stair $400 and recorded convictions against him.
Peter Lang
A former Sunshine Coast radio personality and Australia Zoo marketing manager was sentenced to prison for nine historic child sex offences involving a 13-year-old girl in the 1980s.
In May, 2024, a jury found Peter Lang guilty of five charges including two indecent treatment of a child and three carnal knowledge of a child under 16.
On four of the charges, the jury was discharged after they were unable to reach a majority verdict.
However, in November, 2024, Lang pleaded guilty to the four charges: three carnal knowledge with a child under 16 and one count of indecent treatment of a girl under 14.
The court heard Lang, then 29, met up with a 13-year-old girl after she called the Nambour radio station 4SS, where he worked as a presenter, to request a song.
Lang and the girl then met at the grounds of a local primary school where they had sex on multiple occasions, the first occasion only days after her 13th birthday.
Judge Glen Cash outlined his sentencing decision, considering several factors, including Lang’s age, remorse, good character, and clean criminal history both before and after the offences.
Lang was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with the term to be suspended after serving six months, taking into account time already served.
Samuel James Mostyn
Samuel James Mostyn pleaded guilty at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on December 2, 2024, to one count of choking, one count of occasioning bodily harm and one count of contravening a protection order.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the court the incident occurred when the victim had an argument with Mostyn at his Maroochydore home.
“She went to leave, and he grabbed her arms, pushed her towards the door, telling her to go. He then followed her around the home as she grabbed some of her belongings, and at one point raised his hands up and held them towards her neck,” he said.
“He started making attempts to grab at her neck.”
He said the victim described being “thrown around like a ragdoll” during the attack.
“He stood behind her and put his arm around her neck in the choke position … he squeezed hard, and she lost her breath,” Mr Andronicus said.
She fled into the bedroom, but he pursued her and “slammed her” into a chest of drawers, the court was told.
Defence lawyer David Crews, said his client had been self-medicating for PTSD with “a large amount of cannabis,” which he suggested could explain his behaviour.
Mostyn was given a head sentence of three years in prison. With 304 days already served in custody, he was released two days after.
James Dean Birt
A woman found an axe embedded in her security camera at home after she was choked by an aspiring businessman, a court heard.
James Dean Birt appeared in Maroochydore District Court on December 3 with a crowd of supporters in the public gallery.
He pleaded guilty to one count of choking and three counts of wilful damage, and was discharged of a second count of choking.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the court Birt and the victim argued after they had a drink.
The court heard the woman grabbed his phone but tossed it shortly before Birt put her in a headlock.
The woman eventually locked herself in her room, but Birt broke the lock before he removed a security camera outside and threw it inside her home, damaging a wall and a mirror in the process.
Mr Andronicus said the next morning the woman located another camera with an axe embedded in it.
Defence barrister James Green said his client has attended an alcohol diversion course, had started a behavioural course and had been drug and alcohol free.
Mr Green tendered a psychological report, but Judge Glen Cash had further questions, prompting Mr Andronicus and Mr Green to ask for an adjournment.
Matthew Ian Anthony Scown
A Sunshine Coast man who was jailed for the death of his ex-girlfriend’s young son in 2017 has been released from custody after admitting to biting and assaulting his partner on an ice binge.
Matthew Ian Anthony Scown, 41, received a jail term after he served considerable time in custody for the manslaughter of Tyrell Cobb, 4, on the Gold Coast in 2009.
In Maroochydore District Court on Wednesday, Scown received more jail time for his horrid assaults on his partner after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges including three counts of assault and one each of threatening violence, common assault and stealing.
Crown prosecutor Rhys Byrne said the woman came to Scown’s address on February 16 as she was struggling with a bout of homelessness.
During a hellish 24 hours at the 41-year-old’s home, Mr Byrne said Scown assaulted the woman multiple times.
This included throwing a bangle at her, grabbing her arms, shaking her, biting her on the bum, kicking her in the leg and holding a knife to her throat.
Defence barrister David Crews said Scown believed he was in a meth-induced drug psychosis at the time due to his heavy use.
Judge Gary Long jailed Scown for two-and-a-half years, factoring in his 296 days in custody with immediate parole release.
Jeffrey David Bickford
A former footy player and father continued to serve time in jail following a disturbing burglary at a woman’s home where he viciously assaulted her after demanding cigarettes.
Jeffrey David Bickford arrived at the woman’s Beerwah home in the early hours of June 10, 2023, when he delivered the frightening attack, leaving the woman with visible injuries.
His disturbing break in was retold in Maroochydore District Court in February after his plea of guilty to burglary and assault occasioning bodily harm.
Crown prosecutor Erica Zammit told the court he called the woman nine times and sent texts about 5am in the morning where he said he was coming around.
The court heard the woman’s housemate called police after he tried to enter the home before he smashed her bedroom window and reached through to grab her arm, prompting the victim to fight him off.
The Crown prosecutor said it was here Bickford struck the woman in the face three times before a friend, who he arrived with, pulled him away and they left.
Defence barrister Rachel Hew said he came from a prejudicial upbringing but had a history of playing rugby league in his earlier years which he wanted to continue.
Bickford was jailed for two years, which was cumulative on another jail term from the Brisbane Supreme Court for drug offences in 2023.
He will be eligible for parole on June 10 however his previous jail sentence won’t expire until February 2026.
David Ross Phillips
A Beerwah occupational health and safety worker was sent to prison after using a female persona as an instrument to groom a mother online to allow him to sexually abuse their daughter.
Little did David Ross Phillips know he was in fact talking to an undercover police officer, which resulted in his arrest.
His offending was heard in the Maroochydore District Court in January following guilty pleas to several charges including grooming of a parent to facilitate child sexual abuse, possessing child exploitation material, and using a carriage service to solicit and transmit child abuse material.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said police were conducting covert online investigations when an undercover officer integrated themselves into a group chat called “family matters incest only”.
In conversations with the officer, Phillips spoke about his depraved sexual proclivities, before requesting the operative bring her 11-year-old ‘daughter’ to meet him.
Mr Stark said Phillips requested photos and described in graphic sexual detail what he would do to the fictional child who he thought was real.
Detectives would later raid Phillips’ home where they found on his devices images and videos depicting abuse of children from newborns up to 10 years old.
Defence barrister Michael Bonasia said Phillips’ wife would suffer hardship when he was jailed due to her suffering a stroke and Phillips suffered financial consequences from the charges.
Phillips was jailed for four years, with a non-parole period of 16 months.
David Slyderink
David Slyderink’s perverted conversations were aired in Maroochydore District Court in January following his pleas of guilty to grooming a carer of a child for a sexual act along with distributing and possessing child exploitation material.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said he worked for the University of the Sunshine Coast when he began to speak to an undercover police officer, who took on a fake identity.
Mr Stark said Slyderink was “proactive” in speaking about sexual abuse of children to the undercover officer.
The court heard the details of Slyderink’s lurid and heinous messages, and he spoke to the fictional identity about her fake niece and nephew, her access to them and about them being sexually abused by him and the aunty.
When Slyderink’s home was raided, 70 child exploitation images and videos were found on his electronic devices, which were a mix of real and computer generated material.
Defence barrister Benjamin Taylor clarified that Slyderink, did not openly “seek out” the material but spoke to the fictitious identity in a “fantastical sense”, with there being no actual arrangements made to meet up.
Slyderink was jailed for 18 months, to be suspended after he served five months.
Peter Neil Skoien
Peter Neil Skoien left an open wound on his victim during the bizarre attack after he latched onto the man’s bottom while he was being restrained on the ground at a Nambour home on May 3 last year.
Maroochydore Magistrates Court heard in January the man initially went to the victim’s home to retrieve $20 which he was owed to him, prompting an argument.
After leaving the home, Skoien then returned with knuckle dusters and punched the victim.
A struggle ensued but the victim was able to restrain Skoien on the floor until police arrived.
During the wait, Skoien bit the victim “near his buttock or hip” and “squeezed his testicles”, the court heard.
Police prosecutor Mark Burrell said it was a “significant bite” which caused an open wound, with the victim having concerns of disease transmission.
Defence solicitor Katie Paterson told the court her client bit the victim due to being unable to breathe, as he alleged the victim had his foot on his neck.
Skoien pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Skoien was jailed for 12 months, suspended immediately for three years. He was also ordered to pay $500 in compensation.
Mark Anthony Higgins
A jury has found Sunshine Coast businessman Mark Anthony Higgins guilty of two counts of indecently treating a child under 16, marking the second time he has been convicted of the offences after appealing his first conviction.
On March 3, 2023, he was found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail for the historical charges of indecently treating a child under 16, serving six months before being released on a suspended sentence.
During the retrial, the court heard Higgins massaged a girl who was about 11 or 12 at the time and “cupped” her breast.
On another occasion, when alone with the victim, he exposed himself to her and made some untoward comments.
Higgins was represented by defence barrister Russell Pearce, who argued that Higgins was a victim of blackmail and said in his closing statements that there was a “real risk of criminal law being weaponised” against his client.
Higgins, a well-known figure in the Sunshine Coast music industry, founded Shake It Up music shop on Currie St, Nambour, in 2004.
Judge Byrne sentenced Higgins to the same term to which he received during his initial trial, meaning he was able to walk free.
Paul Norman Jacobsen
Paul Norman Jacobsen, who is a reportable sexual offender, admitted to breaching conditions in Maroochydore Magistrates Court in February following pleas of guilty to five counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations.
Police prosecutor Val Crossley said the charges included failing to notify the registry of his mobile phone, his use of social media, and his change of employment.
Senior Sergeant Crossley said the most concerning charge was one which stretched from December 21, 2022 to October 26, 2024 which breached a suspended sentence which was imposed in 2023 for three counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations.
The police prosecutor said this was where Jacobsen failed to report his regular contact with a child of one of his mates.
She told the court this was regular and ongoing contact with a child of one of the North Arm man’s friend.
Defence lawyer Katie Paterson said Jacobsen was uncovered during compliance checks and he admitted to the breaches.
Magistrate Rod Madsen jailed Jacobsen for nine months’ but granted him immediate parole. He also activated the suspended sentence which will run at the same time.
Luke Darren Bailey
Maroochydore District Court heard on Thursday how Luke Darren Bailey subjected his victim to two assaults and strangled her, which led to him spending almost 10 months in prison on remand before being granted bail.
Judge Vicki Loury KC harangued the 35-year-old about his “extreme aggression” at his sentence hearing following pleas of guilty to assault, common assault and choking.
The District Court judge said Bailey and the woman were arguing at their home on November 6 in 2021, where he threw hot kitchen tongs at her, hit her with his palm and shoved her to the floor while yelling.
Two days later, Bailey let her into the home to retrieve belongings but threatened to punch her, intimidated her and slammed a shower door against her arm.
He then grabbed the woman by the throat, spun her around, put both hands around her neck and lifted her from the ground.
Defence barrister Paul Rutledge said Bailey, who works as a construction supervisor, volunteered at a men’s support organisation and “reconstructed” his life where he recognised his wrongs.
He was granted him immediate parole on a three-year jail sentence, taking into account time he already served, and was ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation.
Mereki Jarmr Doyle
The vile domestic violence assaults committed by Mereki Jarmr Doyle were aired in Maroochydore Magistrates Court in March this year.
Doyle faced more than a dozen charges which stemmed from over a six-week period between October 16 and November 28, 2024.
Magistrate Chris Callaghan said the height of Doyle’s crimes was on October 16, where he turned up to a woman’s home, grabbed her by the arms and threw her to the ground.
Police prosecutor Brendan Newman said Doyle pulled the woman by the hair, kicked her in the ribs and punched her in the face.
She was then dragged along the hallway before he placed his knees on her chest and began to squeeze her throat.
Defence lawyer Rod Morgan said Doyle was making progress on parole but his life fell apart due to losing contact with his dad which led him to substance abuse.
He pleaded guilty to multiple charges including three counts of domestic violence assault, two of threatening violence and two of wilful damage.
Doyle was jailed for two years, which was cumulative on another sentence he was serving, and his parole eligibility date was set to August 26, 2025.
Matt Campbell
It was a call to Crime Stoppers on May 15, 2023 that led detectives to the Maroochydore home of Matt Campbell where revolting files of child abuse were found.
Maroochydore District Court was told in March Campbell’s home was raided by police almost two months later on July 11, 2023.
Crown prosecutor Caleb Theunissen said during the search police seized two laptops, a USB and an external hard drive which contained child exploitation material.
Mr Theunissen said police found his USB inserted into his laptop however Campbell told them he hadn’t used it “in years” and did not use the hard drive “for a very long time”.
The court was told detectives found hundreds of child exploitation material images and dozens of videos which were of an “extremely graphic” and “particularly vulgar” nature committed against very young children as young as five-years-old.
He was later charged with possessing child exploitation material, which he pleaded guilty to in court last week.
Defence barrister Mark Dixon believed a combination of Campbell’s mental and physical health conditions and his lack of criminal history meant he should not serve time behind bars.
Campbell was jailed for 15 months, immediately suspended for three years.
Timothy John Nowlan
Timothy John Nowlan ploughed through two bottles of wine before his victim picked him up and tried to take him to an appointment ,when he inflicted the disturbing attack on February 20, 2024.
Maroochydore District Court heard in March the woman was driving Nowlan to hospital when he abused her, and said he wanted her as well as her brother and friend “dead”.
Crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks said he continued threaten her until he began to strangle her and push her head into the driver’s window as she continued to steer.
The woman, scared and crying, tried to drive to the police station when Nowlan grabbed the wheel.
She continued to drive until the woman pulled over near the Caloundra RSL.
Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown said the 45-year-old intended to live in Brisbane once released and did not wish to return to the Sunshine Coast. Nowlan also admitted he had issues with alcohol.
Judge Terry Gardiner jailed Nowlan for two-and-a-half years and released him onto parole due to time served.
Bradley Richard Tweedale
Bradley Richard Tweedale pleaded guilty in the Maroochydore District Court on December 2 to one count of stalking with threatening violence.
Crown prosecutor Rhys Byrne told the court the stalking occurred across six days after the victim refused to allow Tweedale, who was homeless at the time, to stay overnight at her home.
The court heard he loitered around her home for some time and it took only half an hour for Tweedale to contact her after he left the premises.
The court heard he sent 100 texts and tried to call her 60 times on that occasion.
Mr Byrne said he loitered and attempted to contact the woman throughout the following days, including at least two threats via voicemail to die by suicide and one threat of burning the woman’s house down with her inside.
Judge Glen Cash noted he attempted to call her 74 times during one of the six days of stalking.
Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown told the court Tweedale’s time in custody helped deter him from future offending.
Judge Cash sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment with immediate release on parole and his eight months in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.
Rodney Denis Walshe
A former film set builder who was charged with stalking a couple on a “prestigious” Noosa street was found guilty in a Maroochydore court.
The magistrate-only trial finished on November 14 in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court.
Rodney Denis Walshe, who faced two counts of stalking, was accused of harassing a couple for more than a year after they moved into their newly purchased home in 2022.
On the last day of the trial, acting magistrate Anna Smith found Walshe guilty of the stalking charges, saying he loitered around their home, did “drive-bys”, surveyed the couple’s movements, sat outside to watch and video them and harassed them through various means.
The court was told during the trial Walshe had 58 pictures and 28 videos of the victims on his phone, including some duplicates and video screenshots.
Ms Smith said the victims sold their “forever home” due to Walshe’s actions and barely made any profit off the sale.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment wholly suspended for two years with a restraining order of five years.
Convictions were recorded.
Daryl John Kirkham
A Nambour pastry chef who was in the thralls of a Xanax addiction was jailed for his “intense” stalking of his former boyfriend.
Maroochydore District Court heard that Daryl John Kirkham said it was “just the beginning” for his victim during a campaign of harassment where he threatened to kill him, broke into his home and assaulted him.
Kirkham, who pleaded guilty to stalking with violence in a domestic relationship, burglary and three traffic offences on March 18, 2024, spent 339 days on remand for the fevered offending which took place from March 27 to April 9, 2023.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark stated Kirkham “terrorised” the victim through hundreds of abusive messages and threats after he was dumped due to his “verbal abuse”.
Judge Bernard Porter KC said he broke into his victim’s home and chased him through the street with a pair of scissors.
The court was told the victim had his phone destroyed and was punched by Kirkham, who also scared off a neighbour who tried to intervene.
“This is just the beginning, you will be dead when I’m ready to kill you,” Kirkham said, according to Judge Porter.
Defence barrister Lily Brisick said the qualified baker and pastry chef was using Xanax heavily at the time and grieving the death of one of his boyfriends.
Kirkham was jailed for four and a half years, with his parole eligibility date set for September 18 last year.
Adam Trent Young
A Noosa concreter admitted to a horror stalking campaign on his ex-girlfriend due to a mix of jealousy and his “indulgence in meth”.
Maroochydore District Court heard of the frightening extent Adam Trent Young went to after he descended into a jealous drug rage when he discovered his former partner was in a new relationship.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus said Young’s disturbing stalking escalated on January 18, when he intercepted his former partner, her new boyfriend and his children while they were being driven to daycare.
The court was told Young rode his motorcycle back to his former partner’s home, covered the front security camera and entered the home.
While inside, he pulled out her bedside doors, threw her underwear on the floor, and stole her new partner’s Garmin watch along with his bag.
The court heard Young had tracked the pair due to a feature on one of his children’s iPads.
Mr Andronicus told the court Young cut the new brakes of her new partner’s car and deflated a tyre about 3am the next day.
He admitted to his despicable offending by pleading guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order, two of driving disqualified, one of stalking, possessing dangerous drugs and possessing drug utensils.
Defence barrister James Feely said Young sobered up while in custody, and told the court his client’s “indulgence in meth” played a role in his stalking as it led to paranoia.
Young was jailed for two years and three months with immediate release after counting 327 days in custody as time served.
He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Barry John Collett
A former Caloundra West bricklayer was nearly been deported after harassing his ex-girlfriend through disturbing texts, unannounced visits and stalking her at a music festival.
Barry John Collett faced the prospect of being sent back to New Zealand, a country he hasn’t lived in since he was eight years old, after pleading guilty to stalking and wilful damage against his former partner over a six-week period between September and November 2022.
Crown prosecutor Michael Andronicus told the Maroochydore District Court on June, 2024 that during a six-week period, Collett sent more than 200 threatening and abusive text messages, called her and went to her home without an invitation.
Mr Andronicus repeated some of the horrid messages in open court, where the Caloundra West man hoped the woman lived “a loveless life”, how he was going to “punch” a man she knew and to say he was “watching” her.
Collett also went to her home and banged on her door for more than 90 minutes, threw rocks at her house and switched on a garden hose and flooded her bedroom.
Defence barrister Lily Brisick said Collett completed some rehabilitation in almost 19 months since being charged where he gained insight into his offending.
Judge Ken Barlow jailed Collett for 24 months but gave him immediate parole.
Sean David Whatnall
A plasterer spent more than a year in custody after the cowardly New Year’s Day attack of a woman where he tried to smother her with a pillow.
Sean David Whatnall pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm, common assault, unlawful stalking and choking in Maroochydore District Court in April, 2024.
Prosecutor Rebecca Zammit said the Buderim man spent 437 days in custody since his arrest for his brutal assault on a woman in the early hours of January 1, 2023.
Police were called and he was arrested where he spent three days on remand before he was granted bail.
The court heard Whatnall was remanded again several weeks later and went on to send 20 pages of letters to the victim indirectly through her relative while he was in prison.
Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown said the Brisbane-born father was supported by family and worked as a plasterer by trade, hoping to go into business with his brother after being released from jail.
The Buderim man was jailed for three years with some of his time on remand used as time served. He was given immediate parole release.
Adrian Cornish
A junior Gold Coast footy coach was granted immediate parole for his disturbing stalking of a woman he met on a dating website after she dumped him.
The woman went through six hellish weeks of harassment all because Ashmore man Adrian Cornish would not accept their fling was over, and continually tried to rekindle it through incessant contact from August 25 to October 10 in 2023.
Details of his consistent pestering were heard in Maroochydore District Court on February 3 following his guilty pleas to stalking and contravening an order about device information.
When the victim wanted to end their relationship, Ms Masoumi said it sparked the stalking offending that involved sending the woman more than 300 texts, 13 emails and 14 voicemails.
Ms Masoumi said Cornish encouraged the woman to come outside her home however she did not respond. She then lay “scared s---less and concerned” in bed all night due to this, the court heard.
At one point that evening he messaged that he could see the “lights were off in her house”, which made the victim believe he was close enough to be able to see this.
Defence solicitor Matthew Cooper claimed his client’s offending was a “very, very misguided attempt” of him trying to resume their relationship.
Mr Cooper said the father and junior AFL coach, who had worked with youth women’s Gold Coast Suns academies, was born in Victoria and was a carpenter by trade, however currently worked as a site supervisor.
The court heard Cornish wrote an apology letter to the court which showed remorse and insight, and had completed domestic violence programs in the lead-up to his sentence.
Cornish was jailed for two years, but was granted immediate parole, less the 27 days he had already served.
He was also ordered to pay $3000 in compensation to the victim.
No convictions recorded
Troy Andrew Reeves
A former government adviser walked from court with no conviction after indecently dealing with a 14-year-old girl.
Judge Gary Long accepted in the Maroochydore District Court in January Troy Andrew Reeves held a genuine belief the victim was over the age of 16 during their sexually charged conversations on Snapchat.
However, the District Court judge said it was no longer reasonable for the man to believe she was an adult without taking steps to confirm her age when they met in person at Kawana Shoppingworld.
Crown prosecutor Alex Stark said Reeves began speaking to the young girl on social media on which he asked for nude photographs which she sent.
Mr Stark said after meeting, the pair went to his car where Reeves indecently touched the 14-year-old girl before driving to an industrial area near Wises Rd.
The Crown prosecutor said he performed sexual acts on the child until her parents started to contact her.
Defence barrister Gavin Webber said Reeves’ decision making was affected by a mental health disorder at the time.
Reeves pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and was placed on three years’ probation with no conviction recorded.
Zane Glenn Petersen
Maroochydore Magistrates Court heard in December 23, 2024 how Zane Glenn Petersen accidentally revealed his penis to an underage girl at a coffee business’ drive-through line on October 20.
Police prosecutor Mel Pyke said the 15-year-old staff member was taking orders from patrons in the drive-through line and when the young girl approached the driver side window, she could see Petersen’s exposed genitalia.
The court heard the teenager alleged she saw the church volunteer masturbating while she took his order.
Petersen denied masturbating and said if he was out on the weekends he might not wear underwear.
He was charged with wilful exposure and pleaded guilty to the charge.
Defence solicitor Jacob Pruden said Petersen was embarrassed and remorseful at how he put himself and his family through the ordeal.
The lawyer said it was only later he became aware his penis was exposed.
He was fined $322.60 and no conviction was recorded.
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