Wendouree military collector Gary Phillip Alchin sexually assaults children at his home

A Wendouree collector of military paraphernalia and sex offender who met kids at a bus stop on his way to a local shopping centre has learnt his fate at court.

A Wendouree sex offender struck up conversations with kids at a bus stop.

A Wendouree military memorabilia collector and convicted sex offender invited children at a bus stop to come and see his home and later assaulted kids who visited him.

Gary Phillip Alchin, 59, faced Ballarat County Court on June 13 charged with 15 offences, including nine of failing to comply with his reporting obligations as a sex offender, two of supplying a drug of dependence to a child, one of loitering near a school, and three of sexual assault of a child under the age of 16.

The court heard between April 2021 and February 2023, Alchin failed to report he had contact with nine children in Wendouree and Sebastopol, and in early 2023, he supplied cannabis to two children, loitered near a Wendouree school, and sexually touched three children.

He met some of the children at a bus stop on his way to Stockland Wendouree Shopping Centre, telling them about his military items and cats.

Gary Phillip Alchin appeared at Ballarat County Court by video on Thursday.

On one occasion, Alchin had two kids over for a drink of cordial after they rode scooters outside his home.

At another time, he played basketball with a child at Yuille Park Community College while the school was closed.

He bought that same child non-alcoholic beer and gave him a bong back at his flat.

The child slept on his couch and woke to Alchin touching his penis.

On four other occasions, he touched the genitalia of boys over their clothing.

One victim was as young as 12.

Multiple children who came to visit Alchin’s home regularly dubbed him ‘army man’.

He gave one of them a bong to smoke on the pretext it contained tobacco, despite it being laced with cannabis.

As of June 13, he had spent 468 days in custody.

On Friday, Alchin was sentenced to a total effective prison sentence of four years, with a non-parole period of three years.