Alan Leah fronts court over child sexual assault
A Melbourne tradie called a 14-year-old girl a “p---y” and “weak” after she refused to perform a sex act on him in the car.
South East
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An unrepentant Melbourne man who called a 14-year-old girl a ‘p---y” and “weak” after she refused his persistent sexual advances has been jailed.
Alan Leah, 33, of Cranbourne East pleaded guilty in September 2023 to child sexual assault and sexual activity in the presence of a child in the County Court and appeared for sentencing last week.
Judge Anne Hassan said although Leah was deemed suitable for a community corrections order, the offending was serious and imposed a sentence of two years and six months imprisonment.
In 2020 and 2021, the then 31-year-old sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and performed sexual acts in front of her.
Judge Hassan said that on October 23 2020, Leah was at a Frankston shopping centre when he put his arm around her, lifted her top and put his hand down her pants.
The victim used force to push his hand away before he gave up and called her a “p---y” and “weak”.
A few days later, Leah exposed his penis and told her to perform a sex act but she refused
They were near a school when he told her to “do it quickly before the bell goes”.
Prior to the offending, Judge Hassan said Leah began communicating with the 14-year-old via Snapchat regularly and his conversations later became sexualised.
He requested she send him nudes after sending her photos of his penis on three occasions.
Lead told her he wanted to have sex with her, and that he would marry her when she was older. He also tried to kiss her on occasions and would grab her buttocks.
In her victim impact statement, the girl’s mother labelled him a “pathetic, diabolic, depraved monster”.
“You had the audacity to call my 14-year-old daughter a p---y and weak when she tried to defend herself from a grown man in his 30s, but the only weak person is you Alan to do that to a child, you’ve gotten away with this diabolic behaviour for too long,” the statement read.
“Here we stand to expose what really is beneath this great guy persona that he projects to the world that is simply the dangerous predator you are, Alan.”
Judge Hassan said the law imposed an absolute prohibition on sexual contact with children in order to protect them from what it recognised were the harmful effects of premature sexual activity.
“Adults like you who transgress this prohibition must expect stern punishment. The message must be sent to you by the sentence I impose that you must never behave in this disgraceful manner again.
“Given your lack of explanation and insight into what you’ve done, I am of the view that you remain to some extent a person to whom the community must be protected.”
Leah unsuccessfully attempted to change his plea after entering guilty pleas which, Judge Hassan said, showed that he was not remorseful for his actions.
He will have to serve 18 months before being eligible for parole.