Jason Polglaise guilty of sexually assaulting teen at AFL Grand Final Day party
A man aged in his 40s plied a teenager with shots of alcohol before sexually abusing him during a grubby encounter in the toilets at a house party following Richmond’s drought-breaking 2017 AFL Grand Final win.
East
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A 44-year-old man who plied a teenager with alcohol before sexually assaulting him in the toilet at an AFL Grand Final day party has escaped jail.
Jason Polglaise, now 47, was sentenced by the County Court to a one-year community corrections order on June 11 after he was found guilty of the assault by a jury in March.
Attendees were in a good mood following Richmond’s win against Adelaide, the court heard, when Polglaise arrived late to the party with mates.
Polglaise fed the teenager shots of alcohol, and the teenager later gave evidence to the court that all up he’d drunk three beers and at least 10 shots, some of which had been handed to him by Polglaise and some which he’d grabbed himself.
When the teenage stumbled to the bathroom, Polglaise followed.
He then started touching the boy’s crotch and fondled his genitalia before putting his fingers in the teenager’s mouth as he lay helpless on the ground, the court heard.
In an effort to get Polglaise off of him, the teenager started faking an asthma attack.
The teenager then left Polglaise and told others at the party what happened, prompting them to call police, Judge Sarah Dawes said.
But Polglaise denied any wrongdoing, telling police he gave the teenager three shots of alcohol but did not touch the teenager indecently.
The jury was not convinced however, and Judge Dawes said Polglaise had failed to take responsibility for his actions because of his not guilty plea.
“You were affected by alcohol at the time and admitted to police that you were drunk that night … while the touching was brief, it has had long lasting effects,” Judge Dawes said.
The teenager told the court in his victim impact statement that he’d lost motivation to study, he now had trust issues, particularly related to men, and his relationship with his mum was damaged as a result of the attack.
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Judge Dawes also said the victim’s mother felt “devastated” she was unable to protect her child.
In sentencing Polglaise to the corrections order, she noted he had no prior criminal history and his offending was out of character.
“I am satisfied that this incident was an aberration. In light of these factors and your age I accept that your prospects for rehabilitation are very good, notwithstanding your lack of remorse,” she said.
Polglaise must complete 150 hours of unpaid community work and his name was also added to the Sex Offenders Register for eight years.