Woonona man John Elliott jailed after making lewd comments to ‘terrified’ 21-year-old
A south coast man has been sentenced after he approached a young woman, before making sexual comments towards her, which left the woman ‘sick to her stomach’.
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An Illawarra man will spend at least 10 months behind bars after making several sexual and inappropriate comments to a 21-year-old woman, leaving her “terrified” and feeling “sick to her stomach”.
John Miller Elliott was arrested and charged with intimidation on August 26 last year, after telling a young woman he met on a Woonona train platform that he was going to “touch himself while thinking about her” and asking her about the size of her breasts.
The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to the offence at Wollongong Local Court this week, where Magistrate Geraldine Beattie sentenced him to 14 months jail with a non-parole period of 10 months, labelling his behaviour “intrusive” and “uncomfortable”.
According to court documents, Elliott closed in on the victim as she left Woonona train station, instantly telling her he didn’t feel the cold, because he “used to be a bodybuilder”.
Elliott then began following the woman, who in an attempt to deflect his comments, asked him for directions to a nearby building.
Her attempt at deflection failed, with Elliott telling her he wasn’t wearing underwear and that he likes to sleep naked. He then asked her about the size of her breasts, which she later told police made her feel intimidated and uncomfortable.
The woman began walking away from Elliott in an attempt to find a safe place to run to, fearing he was going to grab her and take her into a nearby park on Mitchell Road.
Police facts stated that a witness driving by saw Elliott speaking to the woman and took a photo, fearing something “was not right”.
At this point Elliott allegedly told the woman, “I’ll go home right now and think of you. I’m going to (touch) myself to you, I might even do it twice.”
The witness drove into a nearby driveway and asked the woman whether she knew Elliott.
Police facts tendered to the court said the woman looked directly at the witness “and shook her head in distress” before running to the driver’s side of the vehicle.
In court on Monday, Elliott’s defence lawyer told the court his client had “no intention of intimidating this young lady”, and said he saw no signs she was uncomfortable.
He also told the court his client had been suffering from social isolation, and that he’d been the victim of jail pranks and attacks since he was refused bail last year.
Magistrate Beattie said Elliott’s behaviour was “intrusive” and that anyone would feel uncomfortable in the woman’s situation.
“They were strange comments to make to a stranger,” she said.
“Anyone would feel uncomfortable if they were in her shoes and it was clearly a terrifying situation for that person to be in.”
With time already served, Elliott will be eligible for release to parole on June 25.