Cairns crime: Michael Arthur Sale convicted on five charges including sex with 15-year-old

A 41-year-old painter was convicted for having sex with a 15-year-old in a backpackers’ hostel when he appeared in Cairns District Court.

A 41-year-old painter was convicted for having sex with a 15-year-old in a backpackers’ hostel when he appeared in Cairns District Court on Monday.

The court heard the sex was consensual and the girl turned 16 and lived with Michael Arthur Sale in a tent at Kuranda until the relationship turned sour.

Sale, who was arrested as part of the Operation Kalahari police sting into the grooming and exploitation of vulnerable young people in Cairns, pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge with a child under 16, assault, two charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and one charge of using the internet to procure children under 16.

Cairns District Court head Michael Arthur Sale had sex with a 15-year-old girl at a backpacker hostel when they were both “living rough”. Picture: File photo

Prosecutor Tim Watkins said Sale was “living rough” and so was the girl when they had consensual intercourse, but afterwards he sent her explicit texts seeking another interaction with her.

The court heard Sale and the girl were introduced by her father.

Living together in the tent, Sale became jealous of other men including the girl’s father and sent the girl menacing and harassing messages, and whipped her with a phone cable.

Judge Dean Morzone sentenced Sale to a head sentence of 20 months in prison with parole from August 28 and declared 369 days in pre-sentence custody time served.

“Ultimately you must dig deep and bring back a life, you have skills as painter – capacity, patience endurance, care, precision, all that you do in your vocation are the skills you need to draw upon in your general life, and with that you will achieve wellness, I have no doubt,” Judge Morzone said.

Defence barrister Tim Grau said Sale had fallen into the grips of drug use at the time and was couch surfing and living on the streets.

“He was told she was 20 but accepts when the offence occurred he knew she was not of that age,” Mr Grau said.

“He recognises it was really a stupid mistake on his behalf.”

Mr Grau said Sale, whose parents were in court to support him, had worked for 20 years as a painter and decorator but had ongoing problems from a stent inserted for kidney issues when he was 21, and had been in hospital as recently as a month ago.

Cairns District Court heard Sale and the girl, who had turned 16 years old, lived together in a tent but he accused her of infidelity and assaulted her. Picture: file photo

He said Sale’s parents went overseas when he was in his early teens and he remained behind and began using drugs when he was 16.

“It was somewhat of a dysfunctional and disadvantaged upbringing,” Mr Grau said.

He said the father of two children aged 16 and 14 paid child support when he was working.

Operation Kalahari kicked off in January 2022 and to date detectives from the Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU) have charged 10 men and two women with 263 charges with 52 child victims coming forward.

Originally published as Cairns crime: Michael Arthur Sale convicted on five charges including sex with 15-year-old