Julia Gillard’s former partner Tim Mathieson convicted after sexually assaulting friend as she slept

The ex-partner of former prime minister Julia Gillard sexually assaulted a friend by sucking on her nipple after she fell asleep while they watched a Whitney Houston documentary.

Julia Gillard’s former partner Tim Mathieson has pleaded guilty to sexual assault. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The ex-partner of former prime minister Julia Gillard sexually assaulted a female friend by sucking on her nipple after she fell asleep while they were watching a Whitney Houston documentary.

Tim Mathieson, the hairdresser who became Australia’s “First Bloke”, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he was convicted and fined $7000 after pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault.

The court heard the 67-year-old struck up a friendship with the woman, in her 40s, after they met walking their dogs in 2020 during lockdown.

In March 2022, she invited him over for a roast dinner where they enjoyed three bottles of wine between them.

They then sat on the couch to watch the Whitney Houston documentary, but she fell asleep during the film.

She was horrified to wake to find Mathieson “sucking” and “licking” her nipple, having pulled down her singlet top.

His hand was also cupping her breast.

Mathieson was convicted and fined $7000. Picture: AAP

She pushed him away and said “don’t do that” but he continued to reach for her breast with his mouth, before she demanded he leave.

She confronted him the next day but after airing her concerns, he laughed before apologising and saying it “won’t happen again”.

Magistrate Belinda Franjic described the sexual assault as “egregious”, saying it was a “breach of trust”.

In an emotional victim impact statement, read out by a police prosecutor, the woman said she had considered Mathieson her friend, before the assault made her question her reality.

“I felt guilt and shame for having a friendship with this person,” she said.

“I felt the friendship was a lie.”

She said she told him on multiple occasions that she did not want “more than a friendship”.

The woman was afraid to leave her home following the assault and now suffers from anxiety.

The woman says she told Mathieson several times she did not want more than friendship. Picture: Valeriu Campan

According to a charge sheet, the 67-year-old “intentionally sexually touched” the woman by “sucking her nipple without her consent”.

This was done in circumstances where he “did not reasonably believe she consented to the touching”.

The incident occurred a fortnight before Ms Gillard publicly confirmed they had ended their 15-year relationship back in 2021.

Mathieson’s defence barrister Brad Penno told the court the assault was “isolated conduct” his client was unlikely to repeat.

“He did apologise the day after,” Mr Penno said.

But he revealed Mathieson did not have a “clear recollection” of the incident.

Mathieson and Ms Gillard began dating in 2006 while she was the deputy leader of the Labor Party. Picture: AAP

He described the woman and his client as having an “intimate” non-sexual relationship, which evolved over lockdown.

The former “First Bloke” sat quietly behind his lawyer during the hearing, dressed in a grey suit, and was supported by a friend.

Mr Penno also told the court Mr Mathieson’s relationship with Ms Gillard deteriorated as a result of Covid restrictions, as Ms Gillard lived overseas in London.

Ms Franjic told Mathieson she considered his offending to be serious.

“It occurred in the victim’s own home,” she said.

She noted that when the woman woke up, she pushed him away but he “kept trying to get his mouth back on her breast”.

“A woman is asleep in her own home and wakes up with a person she seemingly trusted sucking on her breast,” she said.

The couple ended their 15-year relationship in 2021.

The police prosecutor argued the offending called for a community corrections order.

But Ms Franjic ultimately disagreed, citing his early plea of guilty and his “otherwise blameless life” having no prior criminal history.

In August, Mr Penno told the court his client, who was retired, was hoping to be placed on a diversion plan.

However, he said that option had been “taken off the table” after the prosecution consulted with the victim.

If Mathieson had completed a diversion plan, the sexual assault charge would have been dismissed with no finding of guilt recorded.

He was charged with three offences in May this year by the sexual offences squad.

But two charges – which were not disclosed – were withdrawn by the prosecution at an earlier court appearance.

Mathieson and Ms Gillard began dating in 2006 while she was the deputy leader of the Labor Party.

After Ms Gillard became prime minister in 2010, the pair became the first unmarried couple to live at The Lodge, until she was toppled in a leadership spill in 2013.

Despite declaring in 2011 that he wished to wed Ms Gillard, the couple never married.