Soft sentence for serial teen rapist at Toowoomba District Court

A court heard a Toowoomba Region teenager found guilty of raping multiple girls may have been motivated to seek out “sexual experiences” because he wanted to “avoid further perceptions of social isolation”.

The Toowoomba teen was sentenced to three years in jail, to serve 50 per cent of the term, however he will be senteced for another seprate rape before the Ipswich Court.

A young Toowoomba Region man guilty of raping two teenage girls on separate occasions has been sentenced for one of the crimes.

The 19-year-old pleaded not guilty to both of the crimes before judge-only trials earlier in 2024, forcing his victims to relive their harrowing experiences under the scrutiny of defence lawyers.

Legally the teenager, who was deemed to be at moderate to high risk of committing another rape, cannot be named because of his age.

At the Toowoomba District Court on Thursday, October 17, he was sentenced to serve one year, six months, and two days before being released back into the community.

The court heard the teen was sentenced on the basis he had no criminal history, however he would be sentenced for the other rape incident before the Ipswich District Court on Friday, October 19.

The Ipswich sentence related to a camping trip in the Toowoomba region where the teen raped a girl who was heavily intoxicated to the point she could not walk and had been vomiting.

The Toowoomba sentence related to a rape that occurred at a birthday party.

The court heard a teen at the party told him no and that she did not want to have intercourse, however he was not deterred and did not use protection which put the teenager at risk of pregnancy.

A report tabled in court stated his offending behaviour was, “a background of (his) own personal… circumstances as well as importantly (his) limited understanding of sexual consent influenced by (alcohol) use,”.

The report also said the teen may have been motivated to have sex or engage in similar behaviour to “avoid further perceptions of social isolation (occurring) at the time”.

Crown prosecutor Emily Coley submitted the young man’s case did not meet the threshold of ‘exceptional circumstances’ and that he should serve 70 per cent of a three-year jail term, which was mandatory for serious crimes unless deemed ‘exceptional’.

Ms Coley also submitted a conviction should be recorded, noting he denied the act, his potential high risk of reoffending, and that he showed no remorse or acceptance.

The court heard the teen had been struggling with his incarceration because he was in a protective cell with a stranger, cut off from his friends, and was spending four hours outside a day.

The Toowoomba teen was sentenced to three years in jail, to serve 50 per cent of the term, however he will be senteced for another seprate rape before the Ipswich Court

When he was sentenced to three years in jail, to serve 50 per cent of the term, he had already spent 134 days in custody.

A number of reference letters from the teen’s friends, family, and employer were tabled in court in support of the young man, and a number of people including his girlfriend were at court in support.

Judge Nathan Jarro told the boy when he was told ‘no’ he should have stopped what he was doing, however, he noted no violence was used.

Mr Jarro said the victim impact statement, which was not read into the record nor were the facts of the case, showed the survivor experienced significant ongoing emotional trauma.

He said given his good work history, “maltreatment” from the age of three to six, young age, no criminal history before the court and spent time in an adult jail, special circumstances were warranted.

No conviction was recorded.

Once released back into the community the court heard the teen was open to undergoing courses about alcohol use and behavioural programs.

The young man awaits sentence for the other rape he committed against the vulnerable teen who attended a Darling Downs birthday party.