Teen rapist with no condom proves disregard, lawyer says

The fact a teen rapist didn’t use a condom was evidence of his disregard for the victim, a lawyer fighting to increase the boy’s sentence has argued.

A TEENAGE rapist due to get out of jail in three months is fighting attempts to extend his “exceptionally unpleasant experience” at Ron Barwick minimum security prison.

The 19-year-old, who can’t be named as he was underage when he raped a girl at a birthday party in May 2017, appeared in Hobart’s Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday after the state challenged his “manifestly inadequate” nine-month sentence.

Crown Prosecutor Jack Shapiro said sentencing judge Gregory Geason erred by finding it wasn’t an aggravating factor that the boy didn’t wear a condom because he didn’t ejaculate.

Instead, he argued the unprotected nature of the intercourse was “evidence of the disregard” the boy had for his victim.

Mr Shapiro also argued Justice Geason failed to take into account the “humiliating and degrading” fact the rapes occurred in view of other revellers.

He said the boy took his victim from a shed, where the party was being held, to the front lawn area before raping her in view of “many, many people”.

Mr Shapiro also said Justice Geason was wrong by finding the boy held an honest belief the girl was consenting.

“He didn’t take reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant was consenting,” he said.

During the trial, Mr Shapiro said, the boy argued he’d asked the girl if she “wanted to take things further” before explicitly asking her twice on the lawn if she wanted sex – and that she’d agreed.

He said while Justice Geason didn’t make a finding as to whether that had occurred, he’d found the girl was so intoxicated that she was unable to consent.

A defence barrister said the boy was “not shaken” when cross-examined over his belief as to her consent, and also said neither the rapist or his victim knew they could be seen by others.

“This is a young man who has a future … it is still a significant penalty,” the lawyer said.

He said the youth had volunteered to take part in a sex offenders course and held a position of trust at the prison as a wardsman, but had found prison “an exceptionally unpleasant experience”.

In October last year, Justice Geason jailed the boy for two years and three months, but suspended all but nine months of that term, after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

A large group of family members supported the youth from the court’s public gallery on Monday, with Justices Helen Wood, Stephen Estcourt and Robert Pearce to hand down their decision at a future date.