Man pleads guilty in Toowoomba District Court to carnal knowledge of girl under 16

‘I trusted you’: A man has faced court after his former wife of ten years went to police, with the man forming a sexual relationship with the victim when she was 15 and he was 20.

A marriage breakdown led to a woman making a complaint to police about her former husband after he impregnated her when she was just 15 and he was 20.

The couple met in 2010 at City Golf Club where the man was an employee, with the girl starting a school-based apprenticeship, Toowoomba District Court was told.

A relationship between the pair was formed only a few weeks after they met, and in late November 2010 the pair engaged in consensual intercourse, which saw her fall pregnant with her first child, Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie said.

The court was told the relationship continued for nearly 10 years, with the pair marrying in 2014.

However, after the couple separated in 2019, Ms Petrie said the victim made a complaint to police.

In court on Wednesday, the now 32-year-old pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a girl aged under 16.

Reading the victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Petrie said the now 27-year-old was “just a kid” at the time.

“You pursued a relationship with me when I was just 15, I confided in you and you took advantage of my vulnerability,” the statement read.

“I trusted you, and you were my safe space. I now know a 20-year-old male having sex with a 15-year-old girl isn’t a safe space at all, it’s a traumatising one.”

The court was told the victim had been “mentally and emotionally destroyed” and had suffered bouts of post-natal depression.

The man’s barrister Wes Seewald told the court the couple went on to have two more children.

A qualified chef, the court was told the man worked and was taking care of his second wife and four stepchildren.

Judge Michael Byrne QC sentenced the man to perform 80 hours community service with no conviction recorded.

Originally published as Man pleads guilty in Toowoomba District Court to carnal knowledge of girl under 16