Venture Wealth Management founder David Ruthenberg pleads guilty to sexual assault
A Melbourne businessman who sexually assaulted a teen girl hoarded his victim’s Instagram pics to “gratify” himself.
Inner South
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A depraved Melbourne businessman paid his teenage girl sex victim more than $4000 after saving her Instagram photos to “gratify” himself.
David Ruthenberg, 59, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to sexual assault.
Ruthenberg sexually assaulted his then 17-year-old victim in Middle Park in November 2019.
The court heard Ruthenberg previously took the victim on a holiday to the Gold Coast where he “spooned” the victim on her bed.
The victim, who felt “uncomfortable”, pretended to go to the toilet to get herself out of the unwanted situation.
Ruthenberg had earlier bought the girl a $1700 Apple Watch and convinced her to move in with him after she left home following a fight with her mother.
The victim later discovered photos of herself stored on Ruthenberg’s phone in a “private folder”.
The photos were “taken from behind”, cropped and zoomed into the girl’s body, the court was told.
The victim also found videos of herself walking a dog with the camera focused on her buttocks.
The victim, who was unaware the images and videos had been taken, also found photos of herself bent over in a crop top.
The court heard the crop top images had been taken while the pair were at the Gold Coast.
The victim also found a further 20 images on Ruthenberg’s laptop.
In a later incident, Ruthenberg told his victim he wanted to spend “more quality time” with her and “cuddle her on the couch at home”.
Ruthenberg, who also pleaded guilty to stalking, sexually assaulted the girl the next day.
The victim froze and pretended to be asleep during the assault.
Ruthenberg also licked the victim’s neck up to her ear and sucked her earlobe.
He later told the victim he “used” the photos of her because he was “lonely”.
Ruthenberg paid the victim $4032 in “expenses” in the month following the sexual assault, the court was told.
Police raided Ruthenberg’s home and seized his iPhone and laptop on March 20, 2020.
Ruthenberg admitted to police he took photos of the victim without her knowledge and ripped her Instagram pics which he “hid”.
The fiend said he used victim’s photos to masturbate.
“I was sexually frustrated …,” Ruthenberg told police.
“I would take some photos of her to gratify myself in private … I’ve been single for quite a while … she was bleeding me for money (after discovering the photos) … I felt responsible and wanted to do the right thing.”
The victim said, in her statement read to the court, she “looked up” to Ruthenberg.
“I was a young teenager … I was excited to be 18 and legal … I was a happy and optimistic teenager …,” the victim said.
“I remember feeling so much love … I remember getting a giant teddy from Costco … I craved the male role-model that David provided me with and the feeling with finding those photos beyond broke my heart.
“He used that trust he had me believe was real for his own benefit … its still hard for me to understand why …
“He groomed me with materialistic things and fake love and broke that trust … I feel not only anxiety but embarrassment …”
The victim’s mother read her statement to the court.
“(Ruthenberg) put my daughter through hell …,” she said.
“I had no control over my child, I felt absolutely lost like someone was pulling the rug from under my feet, there was nothing I could do … I cried for days … I felt so broken …
“I had lost my child … he broke me and broke my life … I could not cope with what was going on.”
The court heard Ruthenberg, of Middle Park, had been employed in financial services for 32 years.
Ruthenberg, who worked for some “large banks”, started Venture Finance and Advisory in 2008.
Ruthenberg became founder and shareholder of Venture Wealth Management after his business acquired another operation in 2020.
The court heard Ruthenberg is involved in community work and assists charities based in Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Ruthenberg, who falls to be a registered sex offender for eight years, will be sentenced at a later date.
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