No remorse was shown by a man who sexually assaulted a young boy in Shepparton when they were both children, according to a County Court judge.
The man in his 30s pleaded not guilty to nine charges of an indecent act with a child under 16 years and four charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 years.
Following a trial, a jury found him guilty of the offending in 2006 when the man was 15 or 16 and the victim was eight or nine years old.
Judge John Smallwood said the man had abused a position of trust and power over a much younger victim.
The court heard the victim did not know how to tell anyone at the time.
“I didn’t realise the magnitude of what was happening to me — I was just a little kid,” he said.
“What he did destroyed my life.”
The offending happened when the two boys would stay at each other’s houses.
During one of the incidents, the teenager told the victim to lie on the floor next to him and used the victim’s hand to touch himself before forcing him to perform oral sex.
Afterwards, he told the victim not to tell anyone and said he was afraid the victim’s father would kill him if he found out.
Judge Smallwood said these comments made it clear he was well aware of the seriousness of what he was doing.
Judge Smallwood said evidence of other uncharged acts provided context that the offending was sustained, not “out of the blue”.
He said in his view, the man’s conduct during the trial flew in the face of claims of his good character.
“You were aware before the trial started that all he wanted was an acknowledgement you’d done these things to him,” Judge Smallwood said.
The man’s defence argued the man had received a form of collateral punishment already as a result of the allegations, having lost paid and unpaid work and opportunities in the community.
According to the defence submissions, the man had worked in roles with children since the offending and had no history of complaints from young people in his care.
Given the man’s age at the time of the offending and the time since it occurred, Judge Smallwood said he believed the risk of him reoffending in this way was very low.
The man was sentenced as a serious sexual offender, but because the offending took place when he was a child, he won’t be put on the sex offender register.
Judge Smallwood sentenced the man to 30 months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years.
He said his view was nothing but a custodial sentence was appropriate, but he had been reluctantly persuaded it should be suspended because of the man’s age at the time and how long ago the offending took place.
He said if the suspended sentence was breached, the man would be brought back before the court for resentencing.
GV Centre Against Sexual Assault provides free and confidential counselling, information, advocacy and support to people who have been affected by sexual assault. Phone 1800 112 343 or visit gvcasa.com.au