Jail term halved for man’s sex act with girl, 13

By Evan Schuurman
Updated November 2 2012 - 5:54pm, first published September 27 2011 - 1:23pm
Jail term halved for man’s sex act with girl, 13
Jail term halved for man’s sex act with girl, 13

A MAN who sexually assaulted an intellectually impaired 13-year-old girl has had his minimum jail time cut in half on appeal.Brett Alan Gregory, 42, was said to have seen his victim while walking in Ballarat in May this year, when he took hold of her arm and guided her into his house, according to the prosecution summary tendered in court.After closing the door, the pair undressed before Gregory sexually assaulted the girl.He was said to have then realised how young the girl was and stopped, before they both got dressed again.After giving her some lollies, Gregory took the girl home.He was arrested days later, and told police the girl had, in fact, propositioned him, followed him inside and undressed herself on her own accord. Gregory appeared in the dock of the County Court in Ballarat yesterday, where he successfully appealed a 20- month jail sentence which included a 14-month minimum.Defence lawyer Tim Marsh argued that his client’s offending was a bizarre and startling lapse of judgement and significantly out of character.He said Gregory, who had spent about 17 of the past 20 years in jail, wasn’t acting in a predatory way and realised his wrongdoing.Mr Marsh said his client had no doubt dug himself into a hole, but once in the hole, hadn’t dug any further.“This could have gotten significantly worse,” he said.Mr Marsh admitted Gregory had an “appalling history that shows chronic levels of incarceration”, but said it was his first offence of this nature.Gregory’s successful sentence appeal was based on claims that his pre-sentence detention had been dramatically reduced after sentencing, and that he also had to serve jail time regarding other matters.Judge John Smallwood eventually re-sentenced Gregory to 12 months in jail, six months of which was suspended for two years.He said the magistrate who made the original sentence did not have the information he had.Although he described the offending as “the nightmare of any parent”, Judge Smallwood said he was confident this was a one-off offence, while also pointing out that Gregory’s guilty plea was of benefit.Gregory had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of committing an indecent act with a child under 16.

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