Mackay mother, who had sex with mentally impaired teen, jailed for three years

The woman tried to blame the victim for her crime, saying he sat on her bed, touched her hair, called her beautiful and told her ‘you need a good man in your life.

A Mackay mother has been jailed for having sex with mentally impaired teen.

A Mackay mother who unlawfully had sex with a mentally impaired teen tried to blame her victim over her vile crime.

He was 17 years old with the intellectual age of a seven year old. She was friends with his mother and treated him like a son.

The woman and teen had been drinking a lot when he went into her Mackay bedroom looking for a lighter on August 9, 2019.

After some conversation, she unlawfully had sex with him.

“While he did not consent to that (she) is prosecuted on the basis that the Crown could not exclude an honest belief held by (her) based on what she told police,” Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke said.

Mackay District Court heard the teen was visibly distressed afterwards.

She was kicked out of the house and all her belongings were set on fire – which is what drew police attention on the night and how her crime came to light.

The court heard she knew he had an impairment but “seemed fuzzy on the details of what it was when she was speaking with police”.

Ms O’Rourke said the woman told police he had come into her room – she knew he was drunk – and he “said kind things to her”.

“But then described that ‘one thing led to another’,” Ms O’Rourke said.

“She took that back somewhat when asked for clarification.”

In a victim impact statement the teen is described as feeling “angry, unsafe and that he doesn’t trust others”.

The 44 year old pleaded guilty earlier this year to unlawful carnal knowledge of a person with a mental impairment. She has spent 85 days in custody, which was declared time already served.

Ms O’Rourke said despite the woman’s guilty plea saving a vulnerable person from having to give evidence, there were concerns over her level of remorse given her disclosures to a psychiatrist and community corrections.

“In particular, concerningly they note victim blaming behaviour,” Ms O’Rourke said, adding she had also given contradictory information about her knowledge of the teen’s impairment.

Ms O’Rourke pushed for four to five years jail, saying the woman’s actions were “an abuse of someone she knew to be impaired” when she was in a position of trust.

But Judge Julie Dick said the main factor was there had not been a trial, which made the appropriate range lower.

Defence barrister Scott McLennan said his client was a diagnosed schizophrenic and had been suffering from morphine withdrawals after two weeks without.

He said on the night she had drunk about two litres of cask wine and had withdrawn to her room to drink by herself.

“It was the (victim) who entered her bedroom, closed the door and sat on her bed,” Mr McLennan said.

“All my client has said is … in terms of victim blaming … he sat on her bed, he started touching her hair, calling her beautiful, saying ‘you need a good man in your life’.”

Judge Dick said she would have to accept it, but she was “not happy about it”.

“All the way through she has thrown it back at the victim, she could have made that up,” Judge Dick said.

Mr McLennan said his client regretted and was remorseful for her offending.

“Of course she regrets it, she’s in jail,” Judge Dick said, adding the woman would get the benefit of a guilty plea and accepted she had received extra curial punishment.

Mr McLennan said the psychiatric report found the woman was a very low or low risk of sexual reoffending.

“There is certainly an air that you haven’t quite accepted your role in this,” Judge Dick said

“But you have pleaded guilty.

“By your plea of guilty you have saved an already damaged young man from being further damaged.”

Judge Dick accepted there was a causal link between her morphine withdrawal and the offending.

She jailed the woman for three years with immediate parole eligibility, to take into account the lengthy delays with the parole board.

A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Mackay mother, who had sex with mentally impaired teen, jailed for three years