41yo man ‘entitled’ to walk free from NT prison after pleading guilty to ‘sexual advances’ to young girl

The man, who the judge said ‘abused his position of power’, was ‘entitled’ to walk free after he was sentenced in the Darwin Supreme Court. Find out why. DISTRESSING CONTENT WARNING

Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin, NT. Picture: Zizi Averill

A man with a history of indecent assault has been allowed to walk free from prison after he was sentenced for “sexual advances” against a young girl, who was at his house for a sleepover with his daughter.

The 41-year-old man – who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victim – was “entitled” to be released from prison on April 15, the day he was sentenced by Justice John Burns in the Darwin Supreme Court.

On April 2, he pleaded guilty to indecently dealing with a child under 16-years-old, and another count of attempting to procure a child to perform an act of gross indecency.

The maximum penalty for indecently dealing with a child is 10 years prison, while the procurement charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

NT Supreme Court Justice John Burns. Picture: NT Courts

The man had been on remand since his arrest at his home on November 8, 2023, during which he’d spent his entire time in protective custody, the court heard at his sentencing.

He was arrested after his daughter’s friend disclosed to police what happened to her at a sleepover with the man’s daughter at his home months prior, during the 2023 July school holidays, the court heard.

The girl – who was 15 years old at the time, while the man was 38 – spent two nights at the man’s home, and on the second night the man “abused (his) position of power” and made “sexual advances” toward her, Justice Burns said.

While his daughter was at work, the girl was in the man’s daughter’s room, alone on her phone, when the man entered and “began to tickle her”, Justice Burns said.

He tried to put his fingers down the girl’s shorts, the court heard, and at one point he was poking his fingers “into the top of the short towards the victim’s vagina”.

The girl kept pushing the man away, and when she realised he would not stop, she left the room and sat in the lounge room, where there were other family members, Justice Burns said.

When it was time for the man to pick his daughter up from work, he took the girl with him, which she felt “obliged” to do even though she did not want to, Justice Burns said.

While waiting in the car park for the daughter to finish work, the man offered the young girl ice cream in exchange for seeing her breasts, the court heard.

Darwin Supreme Court. Picture: Jason Walls

“At one point while waiting for your daughter to arrive at the car, you were poking the top of the victim’s breasts on the outside of her clothing. The victim tried to ignore you and felt uncomfortable,” Justice Burns said to the man.

Despite her refusal, the man continued to offer her money to see her breasts, until she got out of the car to meet with the man’s daughter, the court heard.

Afterwards, he bought ice cream, before the three went back to the man’s house, Justice Burns said.

Through a victim impact statement, the girl told the court the man’s actions caused her mental health to worsen, leading her to quit her job.

It also affected her relationship with her parents, and caused her to have body image issues, the statement said.

The court heard the man had previously been sentenced to eight months prison in Western Australia for indecent assaults.

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, the court heard how the man began using methamphetamines when he was aged 15, and had previously attempted to take his own life.

He’d been abused as a child, Justice Burns said, and his mother left him when he was 13 or 14, while his father was a “violent man”.

Justice Burns convicted the man on both charges, and sentenced him to a total of two years and two months in prison, backdating it to the time of his arrest.

He further suspended the sentence to April 14, 2025, and gave the man a nine month probation period.

Originally published as 41yo man ‘entitled’ to walk free from NT prison after pleading guilty to ‘sexual advances’ to young girl