Clifford Joe jailed for ‘grotesque’ indecent assault of woman in Darwin city

‘You can only imagine the horrors’: Man jailed after CCTV captures his sick assault on a vulnerable, unconscious woman in Darwin city. WARNING: Distressing content.

A Darwin court judge said the courts generally only became aware of assaults on sleeping homeless women when they were committed in full view of CCTV cameras. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The “grotesque” assault of a sleeping woman in the heart of Darwin has exposed the “horrors” lurking in the dark, secluded areas of the city, preying on vulnerable Territorians.

Darwin Local Court judge Stephen Geary said the sexual assault of sleeping women was a “prevalent” crime in the Top End, which went disturbingly unreported.

On Tuesday, Clifford Joe pleaded guilty to indecently touching an unconscious, intoxicated woman in Darwin’s CBD on Wednesday April 17, 2024.

Mr Geary said the 34-year-old man came across the unconscious Indigenous woman on Cavenagh St at 2.36am, and started touching her despite knowing she was “completely incapable of giving consent”.

He said Joe stepped away from the woman only to “pull your pants down harshly and started masturbating”.

Just minutes later Joe returned to his unconscious victim, shoving his hands into her shirt and exposing her chest.

“You lent down and sucked on her exposed breast,” Mr Geary said.

The court hears he continued to touch her, reaching towards her crotch and pulling down her clothes — repeatedly spitting on his hands before groping her genitals.

The court heard Joe attempted to drag away the unresponsive woman, but was unable to carry her.

Mr Geary told Joe it was clear he was “fully aware of the criminality of your actions” as he kept looking around, watching for witnesses.

However he missed the most important observer, with prosecutor Damien Jones saying the city’s security cameras recorded the entire “grotesque” assault.

Both Mr Geary and Mr Jones said the courts generally only became aware of assaults on sleeping homeless women when they were committed in full view of CCTV cameras.

Both Mr Geary and Mr Jones said the courts generally only became aware of assaults on sleeping homeless women when they were committed in full view of CCTV cameras.

“You can only imagine the horrors that take place in Darwin’s secluded parts, and other places where there’s no CCTV,” Mr Geary said.

“Drunken women, usually Aboriginal women, are sexually assaulted, and often even wouldn’t be aware of it.”

“This is a very prevalent offence.”

Mr Geary noted the homeless man had addiction issues including alcohol abuse and petrol sniffing, with a “prolonged” history of aggravated violent assaults against women.

Joe pleaded guilty to indecently touching and was sentenced to 15 months in prison, with a 10 month non-parole period.

However with nine months already served on remand, Mr Geary said Joe could be eligible for release in just a few weeks.

“Hopefully you will do some rehabilitation with regard to your alcohol abuse,” he said.

“And you really need to learn to respect women, particularly women that are vulnerable, not known to you and that you think you can take advantage of.”

Originally published as Clifford Joe jailed for ‘grotesque’ indecent assault of woman in Darwin city