Mohan Raghupathy: Claremont Meadows man indecent assault conviction
A teenage girl has told police the terrifying moment when she woke to her friend’s dad kissing and touching her bottom during a sleepover at his western Sydney home.
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A father who indecently assaulted a teenage girl at his home while she slept by kissing her bottom and trying to pull her clothes off has lost his appeal to have the conviction dropped.
Mohan Dudhi Raghupathy, of Claremont Meadows, faced Penrith District Court on Thursday in an attempt to appeal a conviction for charges of indecent assault and inciting a 13-year-old girl to commit an act of indecency at his western Sydney home in January 2018.
The court heard the girl was sleeping over at Raghupathy’s home when she woke on the morning of January 6 to him kissing and grabbing her bottom.
Raghupathy then tried to pull her shorts down, asked if he could touch her on the genitals and suggested they go under the covers.
He also asked if he could massage her arms and legs before she kicked him away and he left the room.
The teen said she was too scared to yell for help during the ordeal but told her friend immediately after the incident what had unfolded while in tears.
The girls then told the man’s wife, who then confronted him about the incident in the kitchen.
At this point, Raghupathy denied touching the teen, but was overheard telling his wife, “Put me in jail, I don’t care. It’s what you want anyway”.
The court heard Raghupathy had been heavily intoxicated during the incident after drinking four whiskeys, which he argued was not the case.
The teen reported the incident to police the next day, where she gave evidence that she had “woken up feeling facial hair on her bottom”.
During a police interview, Raghupathy again denied the allegations and said he had not entered the room where the girls had been sleeping that morning.
It was further heard in court that police found Raghupathy to be “vague and evasive” in his interview with police, despite the incident only taking place one day prior.
Judge Mark Buscombe dismissed possible concerns in the teen’s police interview.
Citing a magistrate’s findings on the case in the Local Court, Judge Buscombe found the teen’s evidence had been corroborated by other witness accounts.
“The magistrate was of the opinion that her evidence was supported in part by other witnesses,” Judge Buscombe said.
“She was found to be a believable witness who gave consistent, detailed evidence.”
Judge Buscombe found that Raghupathy had not been truthful in his interview with police and was “self-serving” in some of the evidence he provided.
He said it was “impossible” to accept some of the evidence given by Raghupathy.
There is considerable support for the complainant’s report of what happened, he said.
“Her account of what occurred in terms of the appellant’s conduct towards her was proven beyond reasonable doubt.”
The appeal was dismissed and Raghupathy’s conviction was upheld. He was ordered to serve a Community Corrections Order for three years.
He was also ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service work, was fined $1000 and is banned from having females under the age of 16 at his house between 9pm and 7am.