Clem Penrith: Griffith father jailed for child sexual assault offences

A magistrate has thrown a predatory Griffith father in jail after the man admitted to sexually assaulting two girls and sending vile online messages to a third.

Clem Penrith will spend three years in prison for sexual assault of two young girls.

A Griffith paedophile who sexually assaulted a 12-year old and 15-year-old girl will face more than three years in prison.

Clem James Penrith, 45, appeared in Albury District Court via video link on Tuesday, pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assault of a person under the age of 16, and using social media to send indecent material to a person under 16.

On the first occasion the court heard Penrith, a father-of-four, had approached a 15-year-old girl at a Griffith home after he’d attended a funeral.

The girl was sitting alone playing on her mobile phone when the accused walked up to her, stood about 30cm away, and exposed himself to her.
He tried to force himself on her and when the victim asked him to stop he said: “please don’t tell anyone.”
The victim managed to push Penrith away with both hands and run out of the house.

Between July and August 2017, the second victim was visiting Penrith’s Crestwood home when he asked her to do him a favour.
Penrith, then aged 42, asked the 12-year-old girl to come over and play with his penis.
When the victim started to cry he grabbed her arm and dragged her to his bedroom.
He threw her onto the bed but the victim struggled, kicked him in the groin and tried to escape.

Penrith appeared via video link to Albury Court House.

Penrith pulled her back and pinned her to the bed by her shoulders before rubbing his genitals against hers.

The ordeal lasted 30-40 seconds before the victim managed to kick Penrith off her and escape the house.

Between December 2018 and January 2020, the court heard Penrith used Facebook Messenger to send pornographic videos to another 15-year-old girl. He also offered the girl $50 for a photo of her breasts.

Penrith’s defence barrister Michelle Swift said the accused’s psychological assessment revealed he had been sexually abused by his uncle as a child, and that it lessened his moral culpability.

The Crown disagreed with Ms Swift, saying if anything it should increase his moral culpability as he understands what it’s like to be a victim of such abuse.

Penrith’s psychological evaluation, completed by Dr Peter Ashkar, stated that Penrith’s cognitive ability was below average, and that he had had substance abuse issues since 13, including cannabis, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines.

Judge Shaun Grant noted that Penrith had no criminal history of sexual offences and showed some signs of rehabilitation.
He sentenced Penrith to an aggregate sentence of three years and six months imprisonment, backdated to January 29, 2020, with a non-parole period of two years and four months.

Penrith will be eligible for parole on May 28, 2022.