ACT Supreme Court sentences Jaryn Timosevski over Tinder child sex offences
A man has learned his fate after repeatedly abusing a girl he met through Tinder, having done nothing to confirm his hunch about her age.
Canberra Star
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A child sex offender suspected he had matched with an underage girl on Tinder but did nothing to confirm his hunch before repeatedly abusing the teenager, a judge has said.
Jaryn Timosevski’s actions warranted “condemnation”, Acting Justice Michael Elkaim said on Tuesday as he sentenced the 22-year-old to two years, eight months and 24 days in jail.
The acting ACT Supreme Court judge imposed a non-parole period of one year, seven months and 14 days.
Timosevski had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 16, and a single charge of committing an act of indecency on a person under 16.
An agreed statement of facts outlines how Timosevski, 21 at the time, connected with a 13-year-old girl on Tinder in December 2022.
In messages to a friend, Timosevski described the girl as “really hot” and admitted their conversations had led him to think she might be under the age of consent.
“I’m gonna have to ask for some ID or something,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Acting Justice Elkaim said Timosevski had “regrettably” failed to act on his suspicions.
The judge described how the offender had instead picked the girl up at a park before driving her to his house in the Canberra suburb of Page.
Timosevski gave the girl some of his cannabis vape, which made her dizzy, and touched her breasts during the drive to his home.
Once there, Timosevski initiated further sexual contact.
The victim told him this felt wrong, but he said she was “special” and proceeded to sexually penetrate her.
She told him to stop, but the facts say “he wasn’t really listening” until she started yelling.
There were two more instances of sexual penetration at Timosevski’s home later the same week, with the whole period of offending spanning five days.
A day after the last incident, the agreed facts say the victim attended a police station and “reported that she had been raped”.
At a sentence hearing on Monday, prosecutors labelled Timosevski’s actions “predatory”.
When the case returned to court on Tuesday, Acting Justice Elkaim said he did not think that was the case when Timosevski first matched with the victim on Tinder.
“However, once he had a suspicion and failed to act on it, his actions might be described as predatory,” the judge said.
Timosevski, a former Snowy Hydro Scheme worker, appeared via audiovisual link from Canberra’s jail, where he had already served about seven-and-a-half months on remand.
While the court heard the 22-year-old had been assessed as an above average risk of sexual reoffending, Acting Justice Elkaim found he had “very good” prospects of rehabilitation.
The judge noted Timosevski would be subject to sex offender registration requirements for at least 15 years, which would have an impact on his future employment prospects.
With time already served on remand, Timosevski will become eligible for parole in July 2025.
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