Mackay man pleads guilty to ‘brazen’ child sex offending

A Qld man in his 30s encouraged a 13-year-old girl to leave school and meet him in nearby bushes in what has been labelled a brazen sexual crime. Before this she had thought of him as her ‘protector’. Warning: Distressing content

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a child under 16 and indecent treatment of a child under 16 in the Mackay region.

A Mackay man lured a 13-year-old girl away from school and into nearby bushes to have sex in what has been labelled a brazen sexual crime.

The pair knew each other through family and she thought of and referred to him as “her protector”, Mackay District Court heard.

She is still suffering emotional and mental impacts from this offense.

They had been messaging sporadically until early 2021 when the victim teen’s mother saw their communication which included the then 30-year-old professing his love for the young girl and telling her he wished she was older and asking is she was home alone, and told them to stop.

The court heard it picked up again later that year and involved him asking for an explicit photo and sending her an image of his penis via Instagram before deleting it once she had viewed the picture.

In November he suggested they meet up near her school – his messages had a sexual reference, the court heard.

The girl left school and went to meet him – there were sexual references again, but the pair just ended up talking and she went back to school.

“You continued to persist,” Judge Jennifer Rosengren said.

The court heard at 6am the following day the man messaged her again asking to meet up that day.

“Again taking her out of school,” Judge Rosengren said.

The court heard she left school and met up with a friend, who she told she was “meeting up with her protector”.

“And you texted her telling her to move away from the table where she was and to go into the nearby bushes,” Judge Rosengren said.

“While she was in there waiting for you, you told her that you both needed to do it straight away and you needed a straight yes or no answer.”

The court heard when he arrived he asked her the question before removing his penis from his pants.

The pair engaged in sexual acts.

“You then asked her if she wanted to have sex and she said yes … this is a 13-year-old saying yes,” Judge Rosengren said.

“You left and told her to wait in the bushes until you texted her before you left.”

The court heard the young teen became upset later that day telling her parents what had occurred.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a child under 16 and indecent treatment of a child under 16 in the Mackay region.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said it was “brazen conduct that occurs in a public place” and pushed for parole eligibility over a suspended sentence.

While defence barrister Scott McLennan argued for 18 months immediately suspended because his client was already on parole for an unrelated matter and as such would be under supervision until late 204.

Mr McLennan said the man, now 33, would also be subject to the child protection and offender reporting regime.

Judge Rosengren said there were “serious aspects to this offending”.

“And it’s him that’s effectively pursuing her,” she said.

“She’s 13, she’s vulnerable and he takes advantage of her.

“He’s pulling her out of school as well, and taking her into a bush and then telling her to stay there while he leaves.”

Judge Rosengren determined a suspended sentence was not appropriate and jailed the man for two years with immediate parole eligibility.

He has already spent a large amount of time in custody with 217 days declared as time already served.

Originally published as Mackay man pleads guilty to ‘brazen’ child sex offending