Mum of teen raped by Joshua John Wilton tells court she has lost her daughter as he considers appeal

A young father who raped a teen girl won’t accept the guilty verdict, a court has heard – as the victim’s mum says her daughter is a “shell”.

A young man found guilty of “violently” raping a 16-year-old girl during a drugged and drunken attack has not accepted the jury’s verdict and is “exploring” options for an appeal, a court has heard.

Joshua John Wilton, 21, faced Judge Anthony Allen in the District Court via video link for sentencing submissions on Friday after he was found guilty of two counts of rape, but not guilty of a third.

A jury had rejected his argument his victim’s testimony was “unreliable” after days of consuming Xanax and alcohol.

In a letter read to the court by prosecutor Lucy Boord KC the young girl’s mother wrote she hoped Wilton – a father of a four-year-old – would see the “pain he caused” every time he closed his eyes.

“From the day you raped my daughter, you took her innocence and her light away,” Ms Boord said. “Since that night, I’ve watched my daughter become a shell of her former self.

“I’ve watched her mental health deteriorate – to the point where she doesn’t feel safe to live in this state. She has expressed she never wants to return home to South Australia and this all stands from the trauma you have caused her.

“Because of you, my children have lost the sister they once had, I have lost the daughter I once knew and (my daughter) has lost the passion she once had in her life.

“I will never forgive you.”

Wilton was found guilty of two counts of rape. Picture: Facebook

By its verdict, the jury found Wilton guilty of rape with a co-accused, but not guilty of rape alone.

The court previously heard Wilton and his co-accused were “working as a team” with a “common purpose to sexually assault (the victim)”.

Wilton, of Hackham, pushed his victim on to a mattress on the lounge room floor and said to his co-accused “now is your chance … now you can get what you’ve wanted”.

In the days leading up to the attack, the court heard the trio had been abusing drugs and alcohol.

On Friday, Sam McDonough, for Wilton, told the court he had concerns of institutionalisation in the prison system for his client, who he said had endured a “dreadful upbringing”.

“Frankly, he’s instructed that he would take drugs as the norm – which, in line with my respectful submissions, is a tragedy,” Mr McDonough said.

“His circumstances were such that his guardians – or role models – were not individuals who would steer him away from those circumstances, but rather reflect those circumstances back at him.

“I understand there’s currently explorations for an appeal.”

Ms Boord acknowledged Wilton’s childhood but said, regardless of his upbringing, he had committed a “violent rape” on a “vulnerable” and “very young” girl.

Wilton returns to court in August for sentencing.

Originally published as Mum of teen raped by Joshua John Wilton tells court she has lost her daughter as he considers appeal