Red Cliffs: Mark Tyers pleads guilty to sexually assaulting teen

A Red Cliffs “predator” sexually assaulted a vulnerable teenage girl while she was making a photo album as a gift, a court has heard.

The lawyer of a Red Cliffs man who sexually assaulted a vulnerable teenage girl says his life has “fallen apart”.

Mark Bruce Tyers, 52, pleaded guilty at Mildura County Court on Thursday to sexual penetration of the teenager.

The court heard the victim had been making a photo album as a birthday present when Tyers took the victim to a room to look for more pictures.

Once there, he kissed her on the lips and told her he had feelings for her.

The victim told Tyers she was not interested and Tyers tried to talk to her about sex but the victim said she would prefer to talk to her mum.

Tyers then sexually assaulted her.

The court heard she tried to pull away, telling him she felt uncomfortable, but Tyers held her down.

She said she wanted to scream but couldn’t.

After he assaulted her, the victim told Tyers she didn’t want him to touch her anymore.

The court heard Tyers told her not to tell anyone.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the victim said she no longer trusted men.

She said Tyers made her feel responsible for what had happened and that telling the police about it was “petrifying”.

She also said she had dreams of making him feel the pain she’d felt.

“I want the judge to know that I’m angry about what he took from me,” the victim said.

The victim’s mother said it was hard to put her betrayal into words.

“What he did to her, how could he betray my trust in him to get to my kids?”

She said the anger and pain she felt had no end and Tyers had taken advantage of her because of her age.

“He knew exactly what he was doing. He is a predator.”

Tyers’ lawyer told the court he was a man who had fallen apart.

“His self care and attention to his hair and other matters has faded,” his lawyer said.

Judge David Sexton adjourned the court to have Tyers assessed for a corrections order.

He will be sentenced in November and will remain in custody until then.

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