STATE OF TASMANIA v ADB 4 NOVEMBER 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PEARCE J
ADB, you plead guilty to two counts of indecent assault. The crimes were committed on 8 January 2020 when you were 21. The complainant was 15. The age difference was five years and seven months. Your mother and her father were in a relationship and she lived with them. You did not live in the same house but you were a frequent visitor. You spent time with the complainant at various places around Christmas 2019. You went to the Falls Festival together. A week later you went camping with her. On these occasions you both slept in the same swag.
On 7 January 2020 you went camping at Bridport. Again you both slept in the same swag, but on this occasion she woke to you with your hand down her pyjama shorts and underpants touching her skin. You rubbed her clitoris. She didn’t know what to do and so remained silent and still. You then lifted her shirt and exposed her breasts. You shone a torch with one hand and rubbed her breasts with the other. At that stage she got out of the swag, walked to the toilet block and called her friend. She was upset and crying but she returned and asked you to drive her home. You apologised to her and explained that you had fallen in love with her. You thought your feelings were reciprocated. When she arrived home she told her mother and your father what had happened and was crying. I am satisfied that you were immediately sorry for what you did. You quickly expressed regret in text messages in terms which made her mother concerned for your welfare.
You later apologised again and discussed the incident with her. An unusual aspect of this case is that you and the complainant then commenced a relationship. There was no further sexual interaction with her until she was old enough to lawfully consent. However, the relationship continued for three years. It was not until the relationship ended that the complainant reflected on what had happened in 2020. She reported the matter to police on 30 October 2025. You were charged with two counts of indecent assault and pleaded guilty on your second appearance in the Magistrates Court.
You are now 28. Your record before or since is limited to two traffic infringement notices. You are in stable long term employment as a mechanic. You are in a positive and supportive relationship and your partner is pregnant with your first child. Her family speak highly of your work ethic, kindness and trustworthiness.
Although you were only 21 at the time, everyone, especially young men, must understand the need for free agreement to sexual touching of any nature. The complainant did not consent to you touching her as you did. She was asleep when you began to touch her and she said and did nothing to indicate consent when she woke. Moreover, because of her age and the age difference, although only months beyond five years, she could not have given lawful consent to sexual touching. The circumstances in which you found yourself left you unable to control your feelings but, despite your immaturity, you had a responsibility to do so.
I do not wish to understate the seriousness of any sexual offending, but these crimes do not warrant a sentence of imprisonment, suspended or otherwise. The touching was relatively brief and immediately regretted. It resulted from misjudgement arising from immaturity and there was no element of predatory, forceful or coercive behaviour. The fact that you later entered into a relationship with the complainant which continued for three years makes this a very unusual case. It does not directly affect the objective seriousness of the original unlawful touching but it places the potential impact, described by the complainant in her victim impact statement, in context. Almost seven years has passed without any further offending. The pre-sentence report includes a standard risk assessment primarily based on demographic and criminal history information. The risk was assessed as average. However, given you had no criminal history and no other factor personal to you was identified, I would take little from the mere statistics. Taking into account your immediate remorse, your increased maturity and the passage of time, I think that the chance of further sexual offences is remote. I am satisfied that there is no material risk that you will commit another reportable offence under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005. I decline to make a reporting order under that Act.
Although a conviction for offences of this nature is likely to have a significant impact on you, it is a necessary signal to others, particularly other young men, of the likely consequences of non-consensual touching with the aim of protecting potential victims. However, the combination of the circumstances of this offence and your personal circumstances leads me to conclude that a sentence of imprisonment, suspended or otherwise, is not necessary. Community service is the appropriate order.
You are convicted on complaint 31448/26, counts 1 and 2. I make a community corrections order for a period of 12 months from today. The core conditions of that order will be specified in the order you will be given and include that you not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment, that you report to and comply with the directions of a probation officer, that you must not leave Tasmania without permission and that you must notify of any change of address. I impose a special condition that you must, within the operational period of the order, satisfactorily perform 49 hours of community service, as directed by a probation officer or a supervisor. If you breach any of those conditions you may be brought back to court and re-sentenced. I direct that you report to the office of Community Corrections at 111 Cameron Street in Launceston by the close of business on Friday 6 November 2026.