Samuel Lipscomb pleads guilty to aggravated sexual touching of 15yo girl at Bellingen on Coffs Coast
A drunk “tick infested” northern NSW man sporting dreadlocks which had “gone green due to mould” molested a 15-year-old girl – and has walked from court.
Police & Courts
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A drunk Coffs Coast man described as “tick infested” and sporting dreadlocks which had “gone green due to mould” molested a 15-year-old girl in Bellingen.
Samuel Lipscomb then threatened to kill the girl – a complete stranger – and the group she was hanging out with at Lavenders Bridge Park by the Bellinger River.
The 46-year-old man faced Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday pleading guilty to aggravated sexual touching of the girl.
A group of youths were at a river listening to music when Lipscomb approached them on Lavender Bridge about 7pm on November 29, 2020.
He sat by the group, who later described him as reeking of alcohol, according to court documents.
Lipscomb told the group he was schizophrenic, autistic and he used ice and heroin, before making sexual advances.
“You’re 15, aren’t you?” he asked the victim.
She replied hesitantly that she was and Lipscomb continued: “You have nice boobies. If I was 20 years younger, I’d f--k you”.
The girl said she felt uncomfortable and she walked away, but Lipscomb followed her and said “let me grab your pu**y”, court documents state.
Lipscomb then held the victim from behind, “bear hugging” her and painfully squeezing one of her breasts.
The teenager later said she felt terrified and violated. She suffered bruising on her chest.
Lipscomb then took his shirt off, sporting scars across his chest and an Illuminati tattoo, picked up a stick, waved it around and told the group: “I’ll kill you all”.
Lipscomb was identified a few days later because he was known to busk in the area and his dreadlocks had “gone green due to mould”.
The court heard Lipscomb was previously living on the streets and was “tick infested”.
Lipscomb wrote a letter to the court saying he was “severely sick”.
He wrote that he came to Bellingen seeking “peaceful refuge and tranquillity, but instead found social problems and cultural differences”.
Defence lawyer Peter Davies conceded the facts were serious, particularly given the girl’s age.
“She and her friends were no doubt frightened by his actions,” he said.
Mr Davies said Lipscomb had been “dirty and dishevelled from being in the bush and had been trying to earn money busking”.
Mr Davies said Lipscomb’s living situation was so dire he took to drinking water straight from the Bellinger River.
The lawyer said Lipscomb could not recall his offending, but he accepted it occurred and felt sorrow and contrition.
“His actions were irrational – picking up a stick and waving it around,” he said.
The court heard Lipscomb was living with family under the care of a mental health team, while receiving medical injections to treat schizophrenia.
Magistrate Theresa Hamilton said the facts were serious but Lipscomb was remorseful.
“He has written a letter himself to the court and it’s clear he was not in a good situation,” she said.
Ms Hamilton said Lipscomb’s condition had “stabilised”.
She said it appeared the offending was relatively out of character and she said Lipscomb’s criminal history was minimal.
Ms Hamilton was optimistic Lipscomb could be rehabilitated if his mental health and living situation remained stable.
Lipscomb was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service work.
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