Dylan Dean, Cameron Brereton plead guilty to assault, false imprisonment

Two Geelong men have fronted court after a man was sexually assaulted with a lighter and held captive at knifepoint over a drug debt.

Dylan Dean and Cameron Brereton.

A man was sexually assaulted with a cigarette lighter and held captive at knifepoint over a drug debt.

Dylan Dean, 37, and Cameron Brereton, 39, fronted the County Court in Melbourne on Monday via video link from Ravenhall Correctional Centre.

Dean pleaded guilty to single charges of common assault and false imprisonment while Brereton pleaded guilty to sexual assault, rape, common assault and false imprisonment.

Prosecutor Johann Ollquist told the court between July 15 and 17, 2022, the victim received a phone call from an unknown number where they discussed a drug transaction and arranged to meet at 7/11 in North Geelong.

When the victim arrived, Brereton approached the vehicle and forced the driver’s window down before reaching inside and opening the door.

Brereton forced the victim to drive while he held a Stanley knife to his throat.

He then told the victim to “stop right there, you don’t go anywhere”, reached over and squeezed the victim’s testicles, saying “you’re a pretty little boy”.

They then continued driving to an address in North Geelong where the victim was dragged from the car into a house.

Brereton punched the victim multiple times to the head and body.

He collapsed to the floor and blacked out before waking up in the passenger seat of his vehicle.

Brereton took the victim to a different address, where Dean was present, and he was hit with a torch about five times.

Another man arrived at the address and demanded the victim pay back a drug debt of $7602 before the trio of men continued to punch him multiple times.

The victim was dropped off on the Bellarine Highway the next morning.

On July 22, 2022, the victim was at a friend’s home when another man arrived.

The pair left and got into a car together but Brereton also got into the vehicle.

About 12am, they pulled into the McDonalds car park in Belmont where Brereton pulled down the victim’s pants and forced a lighter into his anus.

“The penetration was brief but painful,” Ms Ollquist said.

Brereton was later arrested on August 15 that year while Dean was arrested on August 23.

Dean’s lawyer Brett O’Sullivan said his client was not the primary offender in the crime, which should be taken into account during sentencing.

Brereton’s lawyer Jonathon Miller said his client was using methamphetamine and intoxicated at the time of the offending but had no mental or physical health concerns.

“He is aware the only outcome that will come from this will be a significant term of imprisonment,” he said.

“He is getting too old to be going in and out like he has been.

“This is a big wake-up call for him.”

The pair will be sentenced by Judge Martine Marich on Friday.

Originally published as Dylan Dean, Cameron Brereton plead guilty to assault, false imprisonment