Paedophile who molested girl, 6, place on three years’ probation

A Queensland man who molested a little girl six times, and groomed two others, will not spend any time behind bars because of his intellectual disabilities and the lack of services available in prison.

A Moreton Bay man who molested a six-year-old girl six times and groomed two other young girls after he was charged with the initial assaults, won’t spend a day in jail because of his intellectual disabilities.

Mitchelton man Sam Joseph Wilson, 30, who is understood to now live in the Caboolture region, told Brisbane District Court on Wednesday he was trying to “change my ways” after admitting he was attracted to children.

He said he was “sincerely sorry” to his vulnerable victim, who the court heard had been left scarred by the offending.

Sam Joseph Wilson leaves the District Court in Brisbane. He pleaded guilty to charges of indecent treatment and grooming of children. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The court heard the six sexual assaults occurred at an address in Kallangur in December 2016.

Two of the counts involved Wilson touching the girl on the outside of her underwear; two involved him touching the girl on the inside of her underwear; one involved him attempting unsuccessfully to pull down her pants; and the most serious involved him masturbating himself to ejaculation on her leg.

The girl subsequently told her father, asking him “not to get mad” at Wilson, who denied the offending in a telephone call on December 20.

But 10 days later he admitted he was attracted to children and “needed counselling”.

He was granted bail, but less than one year later, came to police attention again for attempting to groom children online.

The court heard Wilson engaged in sexualised conversations with a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl, and had exchanged inappropriate photographs with a 10-year-old girl in November 2017.

He was bailed again on conditions including that he refrain from using social media, a condition he had complied with, the court heard.

Wilson, who lived in supported living under an NDIS package, had the “mental state of an early-years primary school student” due to wide-ranging intellectual disabilities, the court was told.

As such, and due to concerns about the levels of support he would receive in prison, his three-year sentence was entirely suspended for a period of three years.

He was also placed on three years of probation.

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