Former Toowoomba man Connor Mark Golding sentenced for child sex crimes

A teenage girl was defiled in a change room at a Toowoomba shopping centre after meeting a young man who started an online relationship with the 15-year-old, a court has been told.

Connor Mark Golding, 21, leaving the Toowoomba courthouse after pleading guilty to the indecent treatment of a 15-year-old girl, which occurred in Toowoomba when he was 18.

A Queensland man was given “a lucky break” by a judge when he was sentenced for a raft of child sex crimes he committed as an 18-year-old.

Former Toowoomba man Connor Mark Golding fronted Toowoomba District Court on Monday, August 18, and pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent treatment and one count of using the internet to procure a child under the age of 16.

Barrister Nathan Edridge said the now 21-year-old Ipswich man was deeply remorseful for any harm he caused the girl and was disgusted by his actions.

Mr Edridge largely relied on his written submissions during the proceedings, however noted the soon-to-be-dad always intended to plead guilty to the charges.

The court was told Golding struck up an online relationship with the 15-year-old in 2023, and the offending occurred when the pair met up for a date at a Toowoomba shopping centre.

The court was told that while in a change room, Golding digitally penetrated the young teenager. Later at Golding’s home, the court was told he asked the girl to perform oral sex on him, before taking a picture of the girl in a degrading position.

Crown prosecutor Peter Blake-Segovia said Golding had no prior convictions, and it was conceded that the age gap between the pair was small.

Connor Mark Golding, 21, leaving the Toowoomba courthouse after pleading guilty to the indecent treatment of a 15-year-old girl, which occurred in Toowoomba when he was 18.

Judge Craig Chowdhury told Golding he knew full well that the girl was underage and that the age of consent was 16 for a reason.

Mr Chowdhury said there were a number of things in Golding’s favour that lessened his penalty, which included his early plea, a doctor’s report and clinical opinion, that he was working full-time, and building a family.

He said there was no reason why Golding couldn’t go on to live a crime-free life, after “getting a lucky break” in court.

After it was deemed Golding’s case had “exceptional circumstances” preventing him from serving the mandatory time associated with the child sex offences, he was sentenced to a 12-month probation order.

No convictions were recorded.