Brendan Blackett jailed for sex with teen, child abuse material
A former member of a popular metal band and Pizza Hut driver was infatuated with a teen girl, having sex with her on multiple occasions before giving her a sex toy hidden in a stuffed toy.
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A man who sent a teen girl a vibrator hidden in a teddy bear for Christmas and had sex with her on multiple occasions causing her to end up in a mental institution knew what he was doing was wrong, a court has heard.
Brendan James Blackett was sentenced to six years behind bars for having sex with a girl aged between 14 and 16 four times, possessing 2270 child abuse images and indecently assaulting a person under 16.
At a sentencing hearing in the Dubbo District Court, Judge Nanette Williams said the 26-year-old Dubbo man, who has autism, used social media to invite his victim to meet him in parkland at the Southlakes Estate where he forced her to perform oral sex in 2017.
On another occasion, Blackett picked up the victim from Southlakes and had sexual intercourse with her in the back of his car at a site on Sheraton Road.
Another time, Blackett picked up the victim from her house and took her to his bedroom where she again performed oral sex on him.
While in Blackett’s bedroom, the court heard the victim was shown images which included a girl holding up a sign that said “12-year-old virgin” and a video of an older man with a naked girl.
As the victim was shown the child abuse material, Blackett, who was supported by his family in court, directed her to perform oral sex on him.
The court heard that after an apprehended violence order was put in place to prevent Blackett from contacting the victim, he invited her to the Orana Mall shopping centre to collect a Christmas present.
When the victim opened the gift on Christmas Day, she discovered a stuffed teddy bear with a hole cut into its buttocks area and a vibrator concealed inside.
Blackett, a former Pizza Hut delivery driver and bass player in metal band She’s Taken Empires, instructed the victim to send him videos of herself using the vibrator.
In mid 2018, after the AVO was put in place and when the victim’s parents were not home, Blackett collected her and drove her to a secluded area where the pair had anal sex.
When Child Abuse Unit detectives raided Blackett’s home they found three videos on his phone which showed child abuse material.
Thousands of computer-generated images which depicted child abuse were also found.
The court heard Blackett was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as a child and believed he was in a meaningful relationship with the victim.
Judge Williams said psychologist Tim Manning had provided evidence to the court which indicated people with autism related better to young people and struggled to understand social norms.
Blackett had discussed a sexual interest in young children with Mr Manning, the court heard.
When Blackett gave evidence in court before his sentencing, Judge Williams said he conceded he had an interest in searching for images of young children online, however this was no longer the case.
“The offender conceded that he knew the age of consent and that the victim was underage,” Judge Williams said.
“He said that his arrest was a wake-up call and that his attitude to following rules had now changed.
“The offender appears to possibly have an ongoing interest in young female children generally, I’m not entirely convinced that that has retreated.”
Judge Williams said there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that Blackett’s autism had contributed to the offending, however she made a finding of special circumstances in light of a “confluence of mental health issues” he suffered which included depression and anxiety.
“The offender has no recorded previous convictions, this is to his credit and contributes to his good prospects of rehabilitation,” she said.
In a victim impact statement Judge Williams outlined to the court, the victim said she hated the monster Blackett turned her into.
Judge Williams said the victim lost friendships, suffered post traumatic stress disorder and endured “terrible pain” during the sex acts which resulted in the loss of her virginity.
“The victim spent one month as an inpatient at the Bloomfield Mental Health Hospital,” she said. “The victim began to starve herself to maintain the offender’s interest.”
Blackett’s victim was constantly afraid of losing him because he convinced her he could not live without her, Judge Williams said.
“She believes she will never be the same after everything the offender put her through.
“I’m not of the view the relationship was of mutual benefit to the parties because clearly there was no benefit in the relationship to the victim.”
After taking into account Blackett’s pleas of guilty to the offences, Judge Williams sentenced him to six years in jail with a non-parole period of three years and 10 months.
Blackett will be eligible for parole in April 2024.