Christopher Anthony Macreadie: Ballina rapist jail verdict in Lismore District Court

A depraved Ballina man with a history of sexually perverted crimes has been sentenced for breaking into a home and raping a 14-year-old girl.

Christopher Anthony Macreadie pleaded guilty in Lismore District Court on Friday to sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated break and enter with intent to commit a serious indictable offence.

A depraved Ballina man who broke into a home, raped a sleeping 14-year-old girl and left with a smile on his face will be behind bars for the next eight years.

Christopher Anthony Macreadie pleaded guilty in Lismore District Court on Friday to aggravated sexual assault with a person under 16 and aggravated break and enter with intent to commit a serious indictable offence.

The court heard the victim and her family did not know Macreadie when he broke into their home on June 29 in 2018.

The girl and her mother had fallen asleep in the lounge room with the lights on and the rear sliding door open when Macreadie broke in.

He roamed through the house, collecting the young girl’s bikini, underwear and photos of her with friends at the beach.

He then started undressing the sleeping girl and touching her.

When she woke, she was too terrified to move and pretended to be asleep.

It was only when the man began raping her with his fingers did she bolt up in pain.

He motioned her to “shh” and left out the door with her intimates, but not before smiling at his victim as he left.

Police attended the scene soon after but it took two years to match the DNA sample from the scene to Macreadie and he was finally arrested in 2020.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Hanna condemned the crime as Macreadie’s solicitor Rod Behan suggested there was a possibility the act was opportunistic.

“This offence represents, for women and for parents, one of their worst fears,” Mr Hanna said.

Judge Jeffrey McLennan said he had no doubts Macreadie entered the house to rape the girl in what he labelled was depraved conduct.

He also noted Macreadie’s other sexual-related offending which took place after the 2018 incident and involved him peering at women through the shower cubicles of a Lennox Head caravan park.

The court heard Macreadie had written a letter of apology in which he said the act was influenced by the loss of his sister and a decade of ice use.

However, Judge McLennan said Macreadie was fully culpable for his actions.

“What is disturbing is that what seems to be a long term ice habit should suddenly manifest itself by the commission of these offences,” he said.

“His apparent unwillingness to speak about what are his true motivations for two separate sets of sexually motivated offences, committed about two years apart, are, in my view, particularly concerning.”

He said the victim impact statement from the young girl was immensely moving and spoke to the stark trauma she had faced.

“In my view the only explanation for an offender to smile at the victim is to reflect his self-satisfaction at apparently succeeding in getting the victim to be silent having satisfied himself by committing such a brazen act of sexual violation,” he said.

Judge McLennan convicted Macreadie on both counts and sentenced him to eight years and six months jail, backdated to December 25, 2020.

Macreadie will face a five year and 10 month non-parole period and be eligible for parole on October 26, 2026.