Former Canberra public servant jailed after raping two ‘easily overpowered’ intellectually disabled women
An ex-ACT government staffer — and former top athlete — has been sentenced in court after he ‘preyed upon’ two disabled women in his care.
Canberra Star
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A former Canberra public servant and former top athlete repeatedly raped two disabled women in his care but could be out of jail in as little as three years.
The man, 41, who cannot be named, has previously pleaded guilty to three rapes and two acts of indecency and was yesterday jailed for six years, with a non-parole period of three years.
The man’s barrister, Stuart Littlemore, QC, said his client’s offending involved “serious sexual offences” and “the exploitation of a trusting relationship”.
The ACT Supreme Court heard the former ACT government staffer believed his victims “were reciprocating love and affection for him”, despite their repeated pleas for him to stop molesting them.
Crown Prosecutor Skye Jerome said the man “preyed” on the two disabled women, whose mother he had been dating.
A psychiatric report found the girls had IQs at “an extremely low range for their age” and had the intellectual age of 11 or 12 year olds.
The man told one of the victims not to tell her mother, and said she would be forced out of the family home if she did.
“To her credit, she did confide in her mother,” Ms Jerome said.
Ms Jerome said the powerfully-built man would have “easily overpowered” his small victims and “continued to downplay his offending” while his main concerns were about his future job prospects and ability to continue his sports training.
Chief Justice Helen Murrell said the man’s continued to abuse the women despite both making it clear they wanted him to stop.
She described the rapes and indecency as “taking advantage of a vulnerable woman who was effectively in his full-time care”.
She said both women had a right to feel safe in their own home, where the attacks took place.
Being the repeated victims of serious sex offences would “probably have a significant impact throughout their lives”, Chief Justice Murrell said.
The man, a former tradie, has been behind bars since mid-2019, when he was working for the ACT government.
He told a psychiatrist the victims’ mother - his partner - had “prioritised their needs over his needs” when he began offending.
After time served the man will be eligible for parole in mid-2022.