Liam Grant to undergo treatment for depression after sexually touching girl at Roselands Kmart

A Kingsgrove man was suffering a “major depressive episode” when he sexually touched a 10-year-old girl in the toy aisle of a Sydney Kmart store, a court has heard.

Roselands Shopping Centre. (AAP Image / Robert Pozo).

A man was suffering a “major depressive episode” when he sexually touched a 10-year-old girl in a Kmart toy aisle, a court has heard.

Kingsgrove man Liam Grant, 26, faced Bankstown Local Court last week after previously pleading guilty to a charge of intentionally sexually touching a child at the retailer’s store in the Roselands Centro Shopping Centre.

He was supported by a number of family members including his ex-wife, all of whom sat at the back of the courtroom and shielded Grant from a news camera as he left the courthouse.

Court documents previously revealed the victim, who was in school uniform, was out shopping with her grandparents when she felt Grant “pinch (her) bum” while she was perusing the toy aisle unsupervised in August.

Grant was due to be sentenced last Thursday but was instead granted a six-month adjournment to undergo “intensive” psychological treatment.

Liam Grant (right) leaves Bankstown Local Court last week. Picture: Canterbury Bankstown Express

Grant’s barrister, Toshi Weller-Wong, told the court a psychological assessment of his client found a “causal linkage” between the offending and his mental health at the time.

Mr Weller-Wong said Grant’s offending was “fleeting, spontaneous and unplanned” and had not been accompanied by other sexual behaviours.

The court heard that since pleading guilty, Grant had undergone two months of psychological treatment and held “discussions” with his community about his offending.

Mr Weller-Wong said Grant had a low risk of reoffending and that his mental health struggles reduced his moral culpability.

Magistrate Glenn Walsh said while it was too early into Grant’s treatment for him to pass a sentence, there was still a “significant community interest, in at least, denunciation”.

Liam Grant was given six months to undergo mental health treatment after sexually touching a 10-year-old girl at Kmart. Picture: Canterbury Bankstown Express

Mr Walsh said any future sentence would have to recognise the harm done to the girl and to the community.

“It is not submitted that the offending (had caused) significant long-term trauma,” Mr Walsh said.

“But it was distressing enough for her to make comments to her parents that night.

“However, (the law) allows me, in these circumstances, to defer the passing of sentence to allow a defendant to demonstrate his ability to rehabilitate.

“To have an offender treated in the community (is) the greatest protection against crime the community has.”

Mr Walsh made some amendments to Grant’s bail conditions and listed the case to return to court in April next year.