Twist after promising rugby player jailed for sexual acts with underage teen
A rugby player who engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl has been threatened by “vigilantes” in the street, a court has been told.
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A once promising rugby player and former cheerleader found guilty of engaging in sexual acts with an underage teenager has been sentenced to jail.
However, he has been released on bail after his lawyers lodged a notice of intention to appeal.
Connor Lind appeared before the Downing Centre District Court on Friday to be sentenced after he was found guilty by a jury of two counts of sexual intercourse with a child and one count of intentionally sexually touching a child.
The jury, which deliberated for eight days, found Lind not guilty of another count of sexual intercourse with a child, relating to the same teenager.
He was also found not guilty of another count of sexual intercourse with a child relating to a separate complainant.
Lind was found guilty of having placed his hand on the stomach and inner thigh of his 14-year-old victim as well engaging in oral sex and digital sex with her.
He was acquitted by the jury of having anal sex with the girl and putting his hand down the pants of a separate 15-year-old.
The 23-year-old denied the sexual acts with the 14-year-old ever occurred and told the jury in his evidence that he had kissed her but “cut it off” when it got too heated because he claimed he wanted to respect her wish to wait until marriage.
However, Judge John Pickering said Lind’s version was “utterly rejected by the jury”.
The court was told that his victim – who cannot be identified – was 14 and 15 at the time of the offences while Lind was 19 to 20.
And Judge Pickering said in his sentencing remarks that while there was only five to six years between them, that can be misleading and she was “fundamentally just a child” who was still in the junior years of high school.
“What occurred here is the jury found he did not draw a line in the sand,” Judge Pickering said.
“He knew he was well and truly over age and he knew her age. And he decided he would behave in this fashion.”
The court was told Lind continued to deny having engaged in the acts or any wrongdoing.
And Judge Pickering said he could not make a finding of contrition or remorse.
The court was told Lind had a clean criminal record before he was charged.
Judge Pickering noted Lind’s hopes of pursuing a career in rugby sevens had almost certainly been “crushed”.
He also said Lind had been threatened online and in the street by “some vigilantes”.
Judge Pickering also took into account a victim impact statement, saying it was important to take the teenage girl’s hurt into account.
During his sentencing remarks, Judge Pickering said while Lind’s behaviour wasn’t “predatory”, it was still serious and the law dictated that adult men should “just leave a 14-year-old alone”.
“We don’t want as a society someone who is in year 9 in a sexual relationship with someone who was well and truly out of high school,” he said.
Lind’s defence argued that he could be sentenced to a community corrections order.
However, Judge Pickering said: “That’s a submission I cannot agree with.”
Lind was sentenced to two years in jail and was told he would be released after serving an 11-month non-parole period.
Lind embraced his family and supporters after Judge Pickering handed down his sentence.
His barrister Lisa-Claire Hutchinson made an immediate application for him to be released on bail pending an appeal.
She told the court that a notice of intention to appeal had been filed last month
Ms Hutchinson said any appeal might not go ahead in the Court of Criminal Appeal until June, by which time seven months of Lind’s 11-month non-parole period would have been served, making any appeal ineffectual.
Judge Pickering said Lind was entitled to have his appeal considered on its merits.
He was released on bail including that he report to police once a week, that he surrender his passport and not contact his victim or any prosecution witness.
Originally published as Twist after promising rugby player jailed for sexual acts with underage teen
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