THE STATE OF TASMANIA V KLW 24 NOVEMBER 2025
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE SHANAHAN CJ
KLW you have pleaded guilty to an indecent act with, or directed at, a young person contrary to s 125B of the Criminal Code in that at Kempton on or about 3 January 2025 you committed an indecent act directed at the complainant, a young person, born on 31 August 2009, by approaching him whilst he was naked in the shower, asking him if he was interested in having sexual intercourse with you and touching his face with your hand.
You were born on 14 August 1986 and you were 38 years old at the time of the offending. The complainant is the complainant born on 31 August 2009, and was 15 years old at the time of the offending. You were the complainant’s stepmother and had been known to him for approximately ten and a half years.
You were married to the complainant’s father. At the time of the offending, you and CW lived in Kempton, along with your two children, who were 17 and 19 years old. Around the time of the offending, the complainant would stay at his father’s address approximately three times a week. At those times you stood in a position of trust in respect of your 15-year-old stepson.
On 3 January 2025, the complainant, the complainant, and his 12-year-old brother, were staying at the Kempton address. In the evening, you were drinking alcohol and you were intoxicated. The complainant’s father was asleep on the couch in the living room. Shortly after 9 pm, the complainant went into the bathroom locked the door and began having a shower.
Shortly after, the complainant received a message from his younger brother to say that you had shut the door to their shared bedroom. That was unusual, as the complainant and his brother would usually sleep with the door open. You knocked on the door of the bathroom twice. the complainant did not answer. Approximately five minutes later, you used a hairpin to unlock the bathroom door. You then approached the complainant who was naked in the shower.
the complainant asked you what you were doing and you said words to the effect of, “Nah, sorry, I’ll leave you alone unless you’re up for it,” and touched the complainant’s face with your hand. the complainant pushed your hand away and told you to leave the bathroom. You left the bathroom.
the complainant locked the door to the bathroom and remained there for approximately one hour. the complainant was scared and wanted to make sure you had left. the complainant then left the bathroom and returned to bedroom he shared with his brother. the complainant told his brother what had happened. He also called a friend and disclosed what had occurred.
At 10.01 pm, you started texting the complainant. The following exchange occurred – you said:
Oh, god, mate. I’m sorry for intruding your space. Big apologies, mate.
The complainant replied:
Ah ha, nah, you’re right.
You then said:
No, it’s not all right, mate. I have my own bathroom. You do you and I’ll try and do your dad. I just need some sex. Sorry.
The complainant replied with three thumbs up emojis, and you replied with two laughing face emojis and said “Dad won’t wake up. Looks like I’ll just have to go to bed”. And you sent two crying face emojis.
The complainant replied: “Isn’t he?” And you then said “Nope, he’s snoring. This is so wrong, but are you keen?” the complainant replied “No”.
You said “Sorry, mate, I need to go to bed. I’m a fucked up mess atm. Excuse my bad behaviour, as you’re like a son to me” – Then the crying emoji. You then said “Text messaging is bad. Sorry, mate. Didn’t mean are you keen as coming onto you. Meant was you keen to try and wake up dad, but I think I’ll just leave him as I’ve tried three times. He told me not to leave him on the couch, but I’ve tried three times and can’t move him.”
I do not accept this explanation for your earlier text message. Which appears, in its context, to clearly be a second sexual proposition to your stepson. I also note that you subsequently deleted your text messages, which you later acknowledged were inappropriate.
the complainant stayed awake for the rest of the night.
The next day, the complainant told his mother. On 9 January 2025, the complainant reported the matter to Tasmania Police. On 14 January 2025, you were interviewed at the Glenorchy Police Station.
Under caution, you made the following admissions: on the night of the offending, you were drunk. You had approximately six cans of Bundy and two Hard Solos. Your mental health was not good. You had severe depression. You had been using alcohol as a coping mechanism. You were not in a good place with your husband and you had reached breaking point and needed a way out.
You agreed that you had sent inappropriate text messages, but otherwise did not have a recollection of the offence. You said you could not remember what you said in the messages. You deleted the messages from your phone the following day. You deleted them because, according to you, “That’s not who I am”.
You said you had reached out to a mental health service provider. You said the bathroom has a lock on it, and in the past, you have used a bobby pin to open the door if someone had locked themselves in. You said you were so sorry, and that you had sent the complainant a message apologising for your conduct.
I heard the complainant’s victim impact statement read. That statement puts your conduct in context in relation to your relationship with the complainant. I refer to you as the accused. This statement, which I now set out, is the best description of the nature of your breach of trust and the impact of your offending:
The accused came into my life when I was about four. From that time, I stayed with my dad, the accused, my little brother, and the accused’s two children, once a week and every second weekend. They’re a part of my life for a long time. The night of the incident changed everything for me. I remember being in the bathroom, completely shocked. I was shaking, sweating and felt so sick I thought I might throw up. I was too scared to leave the bathroom, frozen until I thought of my little brother. I felt like I needed to protect him, even though I was terrified myself. I didn’t understand what had just happened or why it happened. I kept thinking, why would my step-mum do this to me? I still don’t understand.
I felt embarrassed and disgusting knowing she had seen me naked. After a while, when the shaking stopped, I sat in silence, biting my nails, feeling completely trapped and unsafe. I didn’t know how to get out of the house. I stayed up all night, trying to act normal so I wouldn’t scare my little brother any more than he already was. I couldn’t tell my dad. I was afraid he might blame me or not believe me or even stop loving me. I just wanted to get away from that house and as far away from the accused as possible. Since that night, things haven’t been the same. I’ve never felt that level of sadness before. I am a dedicated state level football player and always took pride in working hard to be the best I could be. But after this happened, my performance dropped.
I struggle with sleep. I often wake up from my dreams, where the accused is standing over me, trying to make me talk but I can’t speak. When I wake up, I feel itchy and like I need to shower. It’s hard to describe how these dreams make me feel. My thoughts get scrambled, and I don’t know how to explain it to anyone when they ask if I’m okay.
Training got harder. I feel tired a lot, mentally and physically. I sometimes lose the drive I used to always have. For a while, I couldn’t even eat properly. I felt sick during meals and would dry retch while brushing my teeth. I lost weight and muscle that I’d worked so hard to gain.
I’ve been speaking with my football wellbeing coach. He checks in on me regularly and if I seem off, he calls me or my mum. I’ve also had appointments at SASS … [which is the Sexual Assault Support Service] … but talking is hard. I often don’t have the words. I trusted the accused and she betrayed my trust. Before this, I used to stay at mates’ houses all the time. Now, I’d rather be at home. I feel uncomfortable around people, even those I’ve known for a long time. When my friends’ mums are kind or friendly, I get nervous and start wondering if their intentions are wrong. I know that sounds messed up, but that’s how I feel now. I used to sleep with my door open, now it’s locked every night. I even put a deadlock on the bathroom door, just to feel safe when I shower. I used to be a really happy person and since that night, I either feel okay, angry or exhausted. Loud noise frustrates me easily and I often just want to be alone.
Telling my mum what happened is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was shaking, felt sick and once I started speaking, I couldn’t stop crying. We all cried. I was terrified about my dad finding out. I know this wasn’t my fault, but a part of me still feels guilty.
Because I spoke up, dad and the accused split up and he lost his home. Dad and I used to be very close. We still are but I notice when he’s quiet and immediately think it’s something I have done. I feel like I have hurt him, even though I know I didn’t ask for this to happen. I’m embarrassed by what happened. We live in small towns where everyone knows everything. People have been supportive, but I still feel exposed. I’ve had a lot of time off school because sometimes I just need to be by myself.
I also do a part-time apprenticeship as a plumber. I’ve had to take time off for appointments. Recently, I was sent to a job at dad and the accused’s old house. As soon as I saw the address, I felt angry, sick and overwhelmed.
The memories started playing over in my head. I had to call my boss and explain why I couldn’t go. This experience follows me everywhere. Because of what the accused did, I’ve had to grow up way quicker than I should have. I’ve had to deal with things no kid my age should ever have to face. I’m trying to move forward and feel like myself again but it’s really hard. I try to talk about how I feel and make sense of it, but most of the time, I can’t find the words.
Sometimes I just write stuff down and then scribble it out, just to get the thoughts out of my head. While my friends were out living like normal kids, I was at home, carrying the weight of something I wasn’t ready for, but I had no choice. I couldn’t keep it bottled up, always feeling scared for my safety and my little brother’s, every time we visited. Staying silent felt impossible. The only other option I could see was refusing to go to dad’s and that would have meant losing him from my life too. That night I lost a lot: my two stepbrothers, the close bond I had with my dad, our family home, my ability to trust, my confidence and a part of myself.
I acknowledge how hard it can be for victims of this type of conduct to share and record it.
You have two traffic infringements and one prior conviction being for driving a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit. I note that is consistent with your own observations about your issues with alcohol. I accept the State’s submission that this matter clearly involved a grave breach of trust, it breached the trust placed in you by the complainant, his father and indeed his mother. Your offending occurred inside the family home where the complainant was entitled to feel safe. He was under your care and supervision; he was under the age of 18 and you were 38 years old and a person in a position of authority.
Sentences for sexual offences involving young people are increasing. The Court recognises this type of offending as very serious. Such conduct warrants a sentence that will deter others who may be inclined to offend in a like manner, and there is a need to denounce the conduct to the community.
Your counsel recognised the seriousness of this type of offending. I was provided with a bundle of documents which included in the order presented: (i) a report from Dr Georgina O’Donnell dated 17 September 2025; (ii) short note from Dr Tara Kurrajong dated 2 July 2025; (iii) a letter from Michael O’Donnell, a registered psychologist, dated 2 July 2025; (iv) several character references dated 20 February 2025, 18 June 2025, 19 June 2025, 5 July 2025, 19 February 2025, 20 June 2025, (v) a statement setting out your employment history, (vi) a “Yes Optus” record, and (vii) some photographs showing the impact of an assault on you by the complainant’s mother.
In the bundle handed up I was also provided with an outline of submissions including some cases said to be relevant. When providing documents to the Court organizing them and providing an index is always helpful. Particularly if they are not expressly referred to in submissions in mitigation.
During the hearing I was also provided with statutory declarations by the complainant’s biological father and mother dated 3 March 2025 and 19 February 2025 respectively. I was provided with a further copy of the photographs of you following the assault upon you by the complainant’s mother.
It was put on your behalf that despite the account of your offending in the Victim Impact Statement “there are factors to warrant a sentence on the lower end of the scale”. During the hearing I indicated that sentencing is a complicated calculus with many integers, and they can lead to different results. That requires attention to both aggravating and mitigating factors and a process of bringing each to account in the sentence imposed.
The first proposition put was that the “actual incident was fleeting”. I do not accept that because of the deliberate and determined conduct necessary to gain access to the bathroom after 9 pm first by knocking on the door twice and then by picking the lock to the bathroom door, and the subsequent text messages shortly after 10 pm which include what appears to be a second attempt by you seeking sex from the complainant.
Equally, I do not accept that your text messages are exculpatory, rather they appear to be your own acknowledgement that at the time they were sent that what you were putting to the complainant was very wrong. Explaining to your 15-year-old that you “just need some sex” was not necessary nor is it exculpatory. That is confirmed by your apparent own awareness of the inappropriate and non-exculpatory effect of your texts evident in your subsequent deletion of those messages.
It was put that your offending was at the low end of the scale because of the nature of some of the offending that the Court has to deal with under s 125B of the Criminal Code. As I observed when that submission was made I cannot accept that this offending was at the lower end of the scale because of the breach of trust that it represents. That is so despite that there was no physical contact with any part of the body, other than a touching of the face and that you were fully clothed. I do not accept that there were not some predatory aspects to your conduct. There was a significant age difference between you and you were the complainant’s step mother. I will not speculate as to what would have occurred had your stepson, a child, indicated a willingness to engage in sexual relations with you.
Your counsel characterised your behaviour as impulsive and stupid at a time when you were intoxicated. Your conduct was sustained over a relative short period but with an element of determination about it, and whether described as stupid or intoxicated you knew it was wrong and there were features of persistence within it.
It was submitted that, at the material time, you were using alcohol to deal with your depressive state brought on by financial pressures, and that you were being treated for those things at the time. I was told that this “this was a big wakeup call” for you, and it appears that you sought counselling immediately after the offending.
You sought and obtained a counselling appointment on 9 January 2025, and you were put on a mental health plan, which included referrable appointments on 22 January, 12 February, and 2 July. You received counselling in relation to the matter from your work and you started seeing a psychologist. I note the materials provided in the bundle handed to the Court.
The only portion of the medical reports to which I was expressly taken in mitigation was paragraph [25] of the report by Dr Georgina O’Donnell, who is a forensic and clinical psychologist. That paragraph states that in respect of your risk of re-offending your “risk profile is in the lowest risk category. There is no evidence of a pattern of sexual offending behaviour or general offending behaviour”.
In Dr O’Donnell’s opinion you do not “present with paedophilia” which she describes as a pervasive sexual interest in pre-pubescent children. There may be an issue here as to whether all young men aged 15 are pre-pubescent but I have no expert evidence in that regard and I will not speculate.
Dr O’Donnell states that in her opinion your behaviour toward your stepson was “the result of poor judgment under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, in a mental state of resentment towards her husband”.
I was urged to find that this opinion supports a finding that you present no risk of re-offending. But of course that is not Dr O’Donnell’s opinion who simply records that you are in the lowest risk category. That implies you remain a low risk, even a very low risk, or re-offending. I need to consider the significance of that opinion in the context of whether orders are made placing you on the register maintained under the Community Protection (Offending Reporting) Act 2005.
Whilst it may readily be accepted that those under the influence of alcohol and cannabis may make poor decisions, it is unclear how any feelings of resentment to your husband could explain your offending in this instance, other than perhaps as some account of a persistent low mood. I do not understand there is any suggestion that your offending was directed at your husband.
In that regard it is noted that Dr O’Donnell did not have access to the Victim Impact Statement of the complainant, see the section of her report titled “Information Sources” from paragraph [6].
I note Dr O’Donnell records your attempts to engage with medical and psychological treatment since your offending, and that you are making attempts to control your alcohol consumption.
The account given by Mr O’Donnell, a registered psychiatrist, suggests that he was unaware of the full nature of your offending conduct. In his report of 2 July 2025, he describes your offending as you “had sent an inappropriate text to her partner’s son during a period of intoxication”. That is an incomplete and nugatory account of your offending. For that reason his report, other than as a record of treatment, is very limited.
Whilst Dr Kurrajong in her short letter of 2 July 2025, notes that you have been a patient since 2019 and that you have been managed for mixed anxiety and depression since August 2020, she provides no details of that “management” prior to your offending. I note that psychometric assessment described by Dr O’Donnell at [24] of her report records no major mental illness or personality disorder.
I inquired as to what sort of counselling or treatment you have had in relation to your alcohol use. I was told that you have engaged with Mr O’Donnell, the registered psychologist, in respect to that. I was told you she have significantly curtailed your drinking, but there is no suggestion your alcohol consumption has ceased. Dr O’Donnell describes your history with alcohol from paragraph [21] of her report.
I was told that after the offending you were severely assaulted by the complainant’s biological mother. I have photographs of you subsequent to that assault. I sought submissions as to the significance of this assault for the purposes of this sentencing. I accept it has contextual relevance.
I accept that you have suffered as a result of the assault, and note that and that you have not sought to have the complainant’s mother charged as a result. I am prepared to accept the submission that your approach in that regard evidences some remorse and acceptance of responsibility.
Prior to your offending you were working as a registered nurse. You have reported this matter to the relevant regulatory authorities oversighting your role as a nurse and were then suspended. You were working in a sub-acute care ward and not dealing with young people, but the hospital took the view, that you ought to be suspended pending the outcome of these proceedings, and you have not worked there since then.
I am told that you have used up all your long service leave and other entitlements. You obtained a job at “Astron” in Bagdad, an outlet similar to “Mood Food” in Kempton. There was a social media campaign with the aim to get your employer to terminate your services. As a result you were let go.
Under s 11A(2)(b) of the Sentencing Act 1997 I am not permitted to take into account your good character or lack of previous convictions if I am satisfied that your good character or lack of previous convictions was of assistance to you in the commission of a sexual offence. Sexual offence for the purpose of that provision includes s 125B, see the definition of that term at paragraph (a) of the definition in s 11A(1).
It was put that your previous good character did not enable you albeit it was accepted that you were in the position of a parent to the complainant, ie in loco parentis. Specifically, I do not accept the submission that you are “being punished for being a great mum”, quite the contrary. It is because you did not treat the complainant as you did your children or his younger brother that you are here.
In this instance I am satisfied that you previously enjoyed a good character, however, had you not been of good character you would not have been in the position of trust that you enjoyed at the time of the offending. I am therefore not in a position to take into account your previous good character. As a consequence the character references provided in this matter and your counsel’s submissions on that topic are not to be weighed in the sentencing process.
I was urged to consider options beyond actual incarceration, including a suspended sentence. It was put that in this instance, a suspended sentence could mark the seriousness of the matter. It was accepted that there has been no time spent in custody. There was no request that I seek a home detention assessment unless I was to consider that a useful pathway.
The State conceded in reply that the assault upon you is a form of extra-curial punishment that I could take into account. However, it was said that the professional ramifications of a conviction should be given limited weight.
KLW, I convict you on the single count in the indictment. I impose one sentence. I sentence you to a period of 15 months’ imprisonment to be wholly suspended for a period of 18 months on the condition that you do not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment.
Also in that regard, under s 24(2) of the Sentencing Act I make the order suspending your sentence subject to the following conditions:
1 That you perform 100 hours of community service within 18 months. and for the purposes of that order, you must report to a probation officer at 75 Liverpool Street, Hobart, within 2 business days of today;
2 That you will be subject to the supervision of a probation officer for a period of 18 months on the following conditions:
1 You must, during the operational period of the order, submit to the supervision of a probation officer as required by the probation officer;
2 You must, during the operational period of the order, undergo assessment and treatment for alcohol dependency as directed by a probation officer;
3 You must not, during the operational period of the order, consume alcohol; and
4 You must, during the operational period of the order, submit to medical, psychological or psychiatric assessment or treatment as directed by a probation officer.
5 similarly you must, for the purposes of that order, report to a probation officer at 75 Liverpool Street, Hobart, within 2 business days of your release; and
6 That you undertake any rehabilitation program required by your probation officer.
You have been convicted of an offence contrary to s 125B of the Criminal Code. Such an offence is a class 2 offence, see schedule 2 of the Community Protection (Offending Reporting) Act 2005.
I am required to make an order under s 6 of that Act causing your name to be placed on the Community Protection Offender Register established under s 43 unless I am satisfied that you do not pose a risk of committing a reportable offence. Pursuant to s 24(2) of that Act, the maximum reporting period is 15 years.
I have formed the view that if you are not abusing alcohol, and are addressing your issues in that regard, you do not pose such a risk. That is one of the reasons that I have imposed the supervision order in relation to alcohol. As a consequence I do not intend to make an order for registration.
However, let me emphasise to you that the orders that I have made are different from community supervision orders because they work as a condition of suspending your sentence. I have structured the sentence in that way so if you breach the conditions you can be brought back to the Court for re-sentencing.
Thus, this should not be seen as a lenient disposition, if you fail to comply with those conditions as I have outlined them you can be re-sentenced which would expose you to the prospect of serving an actual 15 month term of imprisonment.
These orders give you an opportunity to engage with the underlying causes of your offending, it is entirely a matter for you whether you choose to do so.