‘Extremely embarrassed’: Logan speedcar driver in court for racy pics
A race car driver sent a series of lewd messages, including photographs of his genitals, to a female employee, a court has heard.
Logan
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A Logan father-of-five was high on drugs when he sent a series of lewd messages, including a photo of his genitals, to a disability support worker, the Beenleigh Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.
Kingston man Darren Alfred Jenkinson, 52, pleaded guilty to three offences including using a carriage service in such a way a reasonable person may find it menacing, harassing or offensive.
The court heard Jenkinson was self-medicating a chronic mental illness and back pain with cannabis when, on November 8, he sent a series of inappropriate messages to his female carer.
Defence counsel Paul Hamilton of Anderson Fredericks Turner told the court Jenkinson had a “good relationship with his carer” prior to the incident.
“They were friendly, in a platonic way,” Mr Hamilton said.
“There was banter of a sexual nature between them, not that anything would come of it.”
The court heard the carer woke up to find a flurry of texts on her phone, ending with one final message requesting she delete evidence of the vulgar correspondence.
“(Jenkinson) knew he made a big mistake,” Mr Hamilton said.
“He wanted the messages deleted because he was extremely embarrassed about what he had done.”
Jenkinson is an army veteran and mechanic who grew up in Rockhampton and developed a passion for motorsports.
The court heard he’d recently applied for a sponsorship race car for Toyota, though Mr Hamilton questioned how realistic that aspiration was given Jenkinson’s back problems.
Jenkinson runs a Facebook page, Jenkinson Racing, which shows footage of his prior races and has started a fundraiser to allow him and his team to compete in Australian speedcar events.
The fundraiser has a $100,000 goal.
For the offence of using a carriage service Jenkinson was sentenced to a $750 good behaviour bond, to remain current for 12 months.
No conviction was recorded.
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