Nicholas Daota, 26, jailed for random sexually touching teenager at Scone
A teenager was walking home in a small Upper Hunter community late at night when she was randomly targeted by a man, who was in Australia on a work visa.
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A Solomon Islands national has been jailed for a maximum of 18 months after admitting to sexually touching, assaulting and intimidating a teenage girl as she walked home in an Upper Hunter town.
Nicholas Daota, 26, randomly attacked the 18-year-old girl on a suburban Scone street about 12.50am in November.
The girl was able to escape and run home.
Detectives spent two days investigating the attack, including performing a search warrant on a St Aubins St home where several items were seized and sent away for further analysis.
Daota, who had been living in Scone for two-and-a-half years while working for a labour hire company, was arrested within 48 hours of the attack at accommodation supplied by the company.
He had been on a work visa which was expiring this year.
Daota initially pleaded not guilty after being charged with sexually touch another person without consent, common assault, intimidation and intentionally choke a person with recklessness.
But the Solomon Islands man changed his pleas to guilty on the sexually touching, common assault and intimidation charge when he faced Muswellbrook Local Court on Monday.
Prosecutors withdrew the intentionally choke with recklessness charge.
Magistrate Kevin Hockey sentenced Daota to indicative terms of 12 months for the sexual touching, nine months for the stalk and intimidate and six months for the common assault.
With partial accumulation, Mr Hockey handed down an aggregate maximum term of 18 months with a non-parole period of 12 months.
With time already served, Daota will be eligible for parole on November 27.
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