A 13-year-old Broome girl was grabbed from behind by her neighbour who then rubbed up against her while clearly aroused and then 16 months later she was forced to watch him masturbate as she stood on her home’s front verandah.
Details of the shocking incidents were revealed in court earlier this month as a District Court judge sentenced the offender, who suffers from treatment-resistant schizophrenia, to a 12-month intensive supervision order with a supervision condition, after he had been in custody awaiting his court appearance for 197 days.
The maximum penalty for the “really, really serious” two charges of indecently dealing with a child over 13 and under 16 is seven years imprisonment, while his third charge, of doing an obscene act in the sight of a person who was in a public place, carries a maximum penalty of three years behind bars.
However, District Court Judge Seamus Rafferty carefully explained to the offender that as well as giving him full credit for an early guilty plea, his poor mental health at the time of the incidents, likely fuelled by the use of cannabis, was a fundamental factor in his sentencing decision.
“Normally, I would probably send you to jail for this, so I want you to remember that today,” Mr Rafferty told the 37-year-old who now lives in a shared supported living arrangement in Perth with 24/7 nursing support and the Public Trustee managing his financial affairs.
“Because of your mental health, because of all the changes that you’ve made in your life, because of the support that you’ve got, because you’re doing the right thing now, which you’ve got to keep doing, and because of the time that you’ve already spent in custody, I am not at a point where imprisonment is appropriate.”
However, the judge didn’t mince words when he told the offender of the level of impact the horrific incidents, that took place in September 2022 and January 2024, had on the child involved. Nor when he outlined what his expectations were for the man’s ongoing behaviour, telling him he couldn’t ever touch drugs again and that he must make sure he does as he is told over the next 12 months, or risk coming up against him in court once more, with a promise that prison could be on the cards if that happened.
“You’ve got to understand that what you did to this little girl this day, that really upset her, “ Mr Rafferty said.
“You probably didn’t think about that at the time but she was really troubled as a result of this. It would really scare somebody when your neighbour comes up and starts rubbing themselves against you. And the reason for that is because she’s in an environment where she should feel safe. That’s her home.
“Even though I’m not at a point where imprisonment is appropriate, what you did is still really, really serious and it can’t ever happen again.”
