Robert ‘Bob’ Saunders was drinking 79 standard drinks a week when he indecently assaulted 7yo boy, court hears

An elderly man who indecently assaulted a seven-year-old boy has told a court he was drinking nearly 80 standard drinks a week leading up to the offending.

An elderly man living at a popular southern suburbs caravan park was drinking up to 79 standard drinks a week when he indecently assaulted a 7-year-old boy, a court has heard.

Robert “Bob” Saunders, 74, on Wednesday morning, through his counsel, told the South Australian District Court he was greatly affected by alcohol when he indecently assaulted a 7-year-old boy at Sellicks Beach in August last year.

Saunders, who was a resident of the Aldinga Beach Caravan Park before being taken back into custody when his bail was revoked, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated indecent assault after he was arrested following the incident last year.

In court on Wednesday, Saunders’ lawyer asked the Judge Heath Barklay to “adopt a merciful approach towards the inevitable period of imprisonment that Your Honour will impose”.

“It is (a psychiatrist’s) opinion that there is insufficient information to warrant a clinical diagnosis that Mr Saunders has a pedophilic disorder,” his lawyer said.

“Further to that, her opinion is that there is no information to suggest Mr Saunders is a significant risk of sexually offending again in the future.”

Robert Saunders pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault. Picture: 7NEWS

The court heard that Saunders’ children – who are now aged in their 50s – were receiving anonymous threatening phone calls since the news of their father’s offending broke.

“It is clear that Mr Saunders’ life was at it’s lowest at the time of this offending,” his lawyer said.

“He was living in a caravan, and there are photographs of the state that the caravan was in, and I don’t want to be crude about it, but they depicted, among other things, used toilet paper piled high in the corner of the caravan.

“When one watches the body cam footage of when the police go to the caravan to speak to Mr Saunders there are numerous, at least three or four boxes of 4L cask wine strewn across the interior.

“In terms of his alcohol consumption, at this point in his life he was drinking two 5L casks of white wine a week. One cask contains just over 39 standard drinks, so he was consuming, on his own account, just shy of 79 standard drinks per week.

Robert Saunders leaves the Adelaide Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to a charge of aggravated indecent assault against a 7-year-old boy. Picture: supplied.

“I don’t suggest that Mr Saunders’ intoxication excuses or even mitigates his offending but it does perhaps provide Your Honour with some insight”

However, the prosecutor told the court Saunders’ claim he was affected by alcohol at the time of the offending was inconsistent with evidence given in his police interview after his arrest.

“The defendant told police he started drinking at about 6pm, being approximately two hours after the offence,” the prosecutor said.

“In any event, any self induced intoxication is no way a factor in mitigation for sentence, nor is it of any relevance in assessing his moral culpability.”

At the last hearing, the victim told the court he still “feels weird every day” since he was abused.

“I see his face and beard in my head … I smell him, he and his car smell like two bins,” he said.

“I hear him when I hear people that speak like him … it doesn’t feel safe anywhere, any more.”

Judge Barklay will sentence Saunders next month.

Originally published as Robert ‘Bob’ Saunders was drinking 79 standard drinks a week when he indecently assaulted 7yo boy, court hears