Ex-Cricket Australia executive Timothy Whittaker walks free after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two men

Timothy Whittaker has avoided a jail sentence for sexually assaulting two men after a judge deemed the former Cricket Australia executive’s crimes “opportunistic”, not predatory.

Ex-Cricket Australia executive Timothy Whittaker has avoided jail. Picture: David Crosling

Ex-Cricket Australia executive Timothy Whittaker has avoided jail and will not be registered as a sex offender after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two men.

The 38-year-old faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he was prepared to go behind bars for the assault of two men at his Abbotsford home in “strikingly similar” circumstances, three years apart.

But Magistrate Tim Gattuso found Whittaker was “highly unlikely” to reoffend, and ordered the former communications boss to serve a 30-month community corrections order.

His Honour found that the more than four-year delay in hearing the case, Whittaker’s prior good character, the progress he’d made since being charged and the fact that jail would be more oneros on his mental and physical health had put him in an “exceptional category” to avoid prison.

But immediately after his sentence was handed down, barrister Dermot Dann KC, for Whittaker, told the court his client would “launch an appeal against his convictions”.

Whittaker continues to profess his innocence.

Timonthy Whittaker’s crimes were deemed ‘opportunistic, not predatory’. Picture: Nicki Connolly

That’s despite both men giving evidence to the court during a six-day committal that they’d woken in Whittaker’s bed after nights of heavy drinking to being sexually assaulted.

The two incidents — one in 2016 and the other in 2019 — both came to light in the latter year when the second victim reported his abuse to Cricket Australia and Victoria Police.

His actions, heard through the grapevine by the first victim, gave the other man the “courage” to also come forward.

Whittaker was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of both charges of sexual touching without consent.

Mr Gattuso found that Whittaker’s crimes were “opportunistic rather than predatory” and said that he took advantage of men in a drunken state.

The victims had been forced to live with the “serious and traumatic consequences” of the offending, and relive the crimes through the court process.

“You invaded their privacy and safety in the most serious way,” His Honour said.

He noted that Whittaker’s alcohol dependence, spurred on by stress in his job at Cricket Australia, “put into some context” why a person of previously good character would “so brazenly” commit offences.

Stressful incidents highlighted by the magistrate included the coronial inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes, the ball tampering saga and the Christchurch shooting attack that impacted the women’s team, which happened on the day of the second crime.

Whittaker was ordered to perform 300 hours of unpaid community work and must complete alcohol and mental health treatment and counselling.

His appeal against conviction is expected to be heard at a later date.