Zachary John Foran had sex with the under age girl on several occasions

The Crown accepted he believed the girl was 16 on the first occasion they had sex but he knew she was only 15 on subsequent encounters.

The 30-year-old man was jailed for 18 months, suspended after six months, after pleading guilty to supplying a drug to a minor and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge.

A 30-year-old man who supplied a 15-year-old girl with MDMA (ecstasy) and had sex with her on several occasions has been jailed for 18 months.

Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie told Toowoomba Supreme Court the Crown accepted that Zachary John Foran, who was 27 at the time, believed the girl was over 16 when he gave drugs to her and had sex with her on August 10, 2019.

However, even after finding out later that the girl was in fact 15 years of age, he had still pursued her and had sex with her again, she said.

The court heard the girl and Foran were at a party when he had agreed to give her some ecstasy which he applied by putting some of the drug on his finger and placing it on her tongue.

She felt unaffected by the drug but she had been drinking alcohol at the party and later that night the pair had consensual sex.

On the next occasion two months later, the pair had sex but she had started crying and he had stopped to ask if she was okay, the court heard.

However, he had resumed having sex with her while she continued to cry.

On the third occasion, Foran had invited the girl to a party but she had made it clear there was to be no sex.

However, after drinking alcohol and being handed a cocktail, after which she had no memory of events, she woke in Foran’s bed with him naked beside her and she only wearing a T-shirt.

Asked what had happened, Foran said they had sex.

The girl and her mother were in court for the sentence hearing and provided victim impact statements as to the effects on her and her family.

Foran, now 30 and living in Brisbane, pleaded guilty to supplying a dangerous drug to a minor and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge.

His barrister Shane MacDonald said his client had a number of mental issues including depression and anxiety and he suffered PTSD after being the victim of a robbery.

He had also been using drugs at the time and all that had combined to impair his judgment, Mr MacDonald said.

Justice Martin Burns said the offending was very serious.

“This is serious and persistent offending over a period of time,” he said.

“You took advantage of a vulnerable child who you exploited knowing she was under the age of 16.”

Justice Burns sentenced him to 18 months in jail, to be suspended after six months for three years.

He also placed him on 18 months probation.