Convicted rapist faces court on sexual assault charge of autistic victim

A convicted rapist who locked an autistic man in a toilet and sexually assaulted him had a 14-page criminal history littered with sexual offences, a Queensland court has heard.

A convicted rapist who locked an autistic man in a toilet and sexually assaulted him was sentenced in Cairns District Court on Thursday.

The court heard transgender man Christopher Ivan Broome, 39, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault, had a 14-page criminal history littered with sexual offences.

Crown prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton said the offending had a significant impact on the victim, whose mother penned a victim impact statement on his behalf.

He said Broome was on probation when he assaulted the man on April 1, 2022, in a toilet at Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Christopher Ivan Broome leaves court in 2008 after being charged with robbing a man in a wheelchair.

The court heard he told the man he was a masseuse and showed him pictures of naked men before locking him in the toilet and sexually assaulting him.

Mr Dunkerton said later that day he denied he had done anything other than massage the victim.

Broome was arrested and subsequently remanded in custody, with the remainder of the suspended sentence he was on probation for activated.

“He is a mature offender with a concerning criminal history,” Mr Dunkerton said.

In 2005 Broome was convicted of sexual assault, assault occasioning bodily harm and robbery.

Mr Dunkerton said he was committing offences against taxi drivers and he tried to suck the penis of a 65-year-old driver and clawed his face with his fingernails.

Broome was sentenced in 2010 for rape, attempted rape and assault.

Christopher Ivan Broome, pictured aged 23, was convicted for sexually assaulting an autistic man in Cairns District Court on Thursday. He has a 14-page criminal history.

Broome was convicted of more crimes in 2011, 2018 and 2020 and there was a “hiatus because he seems to have been incarcerated that year,” Mr Dunkerton said.

He said in 2021 Broome was convicted for failing to comply with orders imposed from a conviction for sexual offending.

“His criminal history demonstrates a degree of consistent offending over the years,” Mr Dunkerton said.

In 2020, he pleaded guilty to 39 offences including robbing an elderly man withdrawing cash at a hotel ATM, in Maroochydore District Court, and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with immediate release on parole.

Christopher Ivan Broome was on probation when he sexually assaulted an autistic man in a public toilet at Cairns Botanic Garends in 2022.

He suggested a two-year prison term would be appropriate and noted Broome had served 547 days — just under 18 months — leading up to his sentencing on Thursday.

Defence barrister Rachelle Logan said Broome had a drug habit that had marred his life and was using over a gram of methamphetamine a day at the time, but was now on a suboxone program.

She tendered a moral restoration course certificate and said Broome would stay at homeless shelter Douglas House and go to ATODS upon his release.

Broome did six months on parole for previous offending before being sent back to jail, so 112 days of custody was for previous offending and he spent 547 days in pre-sentence custody.

Judge Dean Morzone KC noted Broome had convictions for offending including indecent treatment of a child, seven robbery convictions, eight convictions for assault occasioning bodily harm, and that he had breached suspended sentences, probation and intensive correction orders.

Christopher Ivan Broome, 39, has convictions for rape, attempted rape, indecent treatment of a child and was convicted on Thursday of sexual assault over a sexual assault in a public toilet.

“You had a tough childhood,” Judge Morzone said, outlining the suffering Broome endured.

“You’ve struggled with your sexual identity since the young age of 13 and take hormone drugs as you continue to work out who you are and what you are, you were in domestic relationships but had to escape violence inflicted on you,” he said.

“Your time in custody has been especially difficult with teasing and humiliation for your transgender status.”

Broome, who was dressed in navy pants and a navy top and wore make up and his hair tied back, cried copiously throughout Judge Morzone’s address outlining the challenges he had faced in his lifetime.

Judge Morzone said the risk of Broome reoffending was very low.

He was sentenced to 547 days in custody, meaning he would not serve another day in prison for the offence, but remanded in custody with magistrates court matters pending.

Originally published as Convicted rapist faces court on sexual assault charge of autistic victim