UPDATE: Mr Howard's convictions were subsequently overturned on appeal and he was granted a retrial. At the conclusion of his retrial, on 30 October 2023, he was acquitted of all charges.
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A Ballarat karate teacher has been found guilty of two charges of indecent acts and two charges of sexual penetration of a female student when she was aged between 11 and 14.
A jury handed down its decision on accused man Lachlan Jamieson Howard, 46, on Wednesday after four days of deliberation and a 10-day trial.
Howard originally faced eight charges of the same nature, but a judge directed he was not guilty on one charge of indecent act and one charge of sexual penetration of a child.
The jury found he was not guilty of two counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The complainant made a formal statement to police about the historical offences which happened when she was aged between 11 and 14-years-old.
She started classes when she was nine-years-old.
The prosecution summary says the complainant remembers Howard telling her she looked older than her age after her first grading at the karate club.
Every now and then the complainant would refuse to do what the accused asked or challenged her to do which caused the accused to tell her 'you wouldn't even be at training if it wasn't for me, you owe me'.
- Prosecution summary
Howard began to drop the girl home from classes after she had to wait outside the club because her mother was late to arrive.
"The accused started driving the complainant home and the complainant developed a 'kinda crush' on the accused," the prosecution summary states.
"The complainant enjoyed the attention he paid her and hearing him tell her that she was 'good at Karate' and that she was 'pretty.'
"The complainant knew the age of the accused and the age difference between them but thought it was okay as she knew of a married couple with a child that had a 13-year age difference between them."
The summary states Howard and the girl would 'spar and fight' after class had finished and one time Howard threw her on the floor on her back and touched her chest.
The first charge of indecent act with a child under 16 Howard was found guilty of happened when he drove the girl home and continued to ask her sexually related questions and challenging her that she was 'too scared' to do certain sexual acts.
Howard was found guilty of putting his hands under the girl's top and touching her breasts.
The prosecution summary says Howard's sexual behaviour escalated over time and he got the girl to unzip his pants and masturbate him.
He was also found guilty of digital rape and engaging in oral sex with a minor while he was driving her home.
"... the oral sex and touching of each other continued nearly every time the accused drove the complainant home," the prosecution summary states.
"Every now and then the complainant would refuse to do what the accused asked or challenged her to do which caused the accused to tell her 'you wouldn't even be at training if it wasn't for me, you owe me'."
The prosecution summary states Howard was picking the victim up and dropping her home on four nights each week.
"The complainant has always felt as though the accused's behavior was due to her behavior and when reminded of it feels as though it was her fault that the abuse occurred," it says.
Years later the complainant disclosed the abuse to her partner and said she had dreams that Howard was chasing her, waking her up at night.
She provided her diaries from the time of abuse to police in 2016 that described their sexual activity with symbols.
The diaries were used as evidence in the trial.
Howard was arrested in January 2017 at his Scotsburn property and he told police during an interview there was not much interaction between them when she was a student.
Howard told police: 'he doesn't understand why she is doing this and she may have some issues going on and it's out of the blue and there are other people that dropped her home as well'.
He said 'he absolutely didn't perform any sexual acts on the complainant and he was married at the time and he didn't have anything to do with her outside karate'.
The trial was heard at the County Court in Melbourne, with 10 witnesses giving evidence, five before the court and five pre-recorded.
Howard was taken into custody when the guilty verdict was made.
He will return to court in June for sentencing.
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