DPP v Mahoney [2025] VCC 1780

Incident #1 - Charge 1 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16 - rolled up charge which includes two instances of penile/oral penetration, three instances of penile/vaginal penetration, one instance of lingual/vaginal penetration, and one instance of digital/vaginal penetration)

1. On 8 June 2024, you messaged FP, 'I'm gonna be out later tonight. Do you wanna come for a drive?'. FP snuck out of her house and walked to a nearby reserve, where you were waiting for her.
2. You approached each other, said hi and hugged in greeting. You kissed her, putting your tongue in her mouth, whilst grabbing her on the bottom, waist and breasts.
3. Together, you walked to your car and got in, before you drove to another reserve and parked underneath some trees near the skating area.
4. You kissed her, before removing your penis from your pants. She leant forward and you placed your hand on the back of her head. She sucked your penis whilst her hands were wrapped around it. You pushed her head up and down whilst moaning and calling her a 'good girl'. After about two minutes, you ejaculated in her mouth.
5. You both left the vehicle and began to walk around the park; however another vehicle was parked close by which scared you, so you both returned to your vehicle. You then began driving to Nortons Park.
6. While driving, you reached over to FP's thighs, tugged at the top of her pants and asked, 'What are these still doing on?'. She pulled her pants and underwear down to her knees. Using your fingers, you rubbed her vagina. This continued until you arrived at Nortons Park.
7. You parked the car at one end of the carpark and you both got out of the car. While standing outside the car, you asked her if she 'wanted to suck [your] dick again?'. She replied, 'Sure'. She got down on her knees. You unzipped your pants and pulled out your penis. You put your penis into her mouth. She sucked your penis for a couple of minutes.
8. You then removed your penis from her mouth and put a condom on your penis. You pulled her up, turned her around, pulled her pants and underwear down and bent her over, before penetrating her vagina with your penis.
9. Whilst penetrating her, you slapped her on the bottom, kissed her on the neck and grabbed her breasts.
10. You told her to lie down on the backseat of the car, where you licked and sucked her clitoris.
11. You inserted two of your fingers into her vagina, moving them in and out.
12. You then climbed on top of her in the car, and inserted your penis into her vagina. You continued to penetrate her vagina with your penis until you ejaculated inside the condom.
13. You then asked FP if she 'wanted to ride' you. She then sat on your lap. You then inserted your penis back into her vagina. You kissed her for a while, before driving her home.

Incident #2 - Charge 2 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16 Years - rolled up charge which includes 3 instances of penile/oral penetration )

1. On 21 June 2024 around midnight, FP met you at the reserve again. You hugged and kissed her before you both got inside your car and drove to Nortons Park. As you drove, you reached over and grabbed her hand and placed it onto your penis over your pants. FP grabbed at your penis for a couple of minutes, before you moved her hand away.
2. On arrival at Nortons Park, you parked your car and kissed her. You then moved and sat on the rear driver's side seat and she squeezed down into the footwell in front of you.
3. You removed your penis, before putting it into her mouth. You held onto her hair and pushed her head up and down whilst your penis was in her mouth.
4. You asked her if she wanted to try 'deep throating'. You pushed her head down, pushing your penis past the back of her mouth and down her throat and held her there for a couple of seconds, causing her to choke slightly. You repeated this a few times.
5. You asked her if she wanted you to slap her face. She replied, 'Yeah'. Whilst she had your penis in her mouth, you slapped her 'really hard' on the cheek and then pushed her head back down on your penis. Every minute or so, you slapped her across the cheek before pushing her head back down. This continued for approximately five minutes.
6. You asked FP if she wanted a break. She got up from the footwell, sat on your lap and kissed you for a couple of minutes before getting back on the floor.
7. You asked her if she wanted to 'make a video'. She replied, 'Yeah, but I don't really want my face to be in it much'. You said that was hard to do, but that you would try. She replied, 'Okay'.
8. You inserted your penis back into her mouth. You filmed her sucking your penis from a side-on angle. Throughout the filming, you pushed her head down onto your penis. You recorded FP for a duration of 64 seconds. She continued sucking your penis until you ejaculated in her mouth. (Charge 7 - Produce Child Abuse Material)
9. You both got out of the car, before FP got down on her knees and put your penis into her mouth. She sucked your penis until you asked her to 'suck [your] balls'. She explained that she didn't want to, that she thought it was 'a little weird' but she 'didn't know how to say no', so she did so.
10. FP stood up and you kissed her. You told her to get into the car, to get onto her hands and knees with her bottom in the air. She did so. You got into the car behind her and smacked her on the bottom 'really hard' approximately 10 times. This hurt her, and but, again, she didn't tell you to stop because she felt that she didn't know how. In an attempt to get you to stop, she fell back onto her bottom, and lay backwards on your lap. You then started slapping her on the inside of her thighs.
11. You rubbed FP on her vagina, over her pants and asked her if she 'came'. FP lied and said that she did because she wanted you to stop. Afterwards, you rubbed her arm, belly and breasts.
12. You then drove her home.

Incident #3 - Charge 3 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16 (rolled up charge which includes three instances of digital/vaginal penetration, three instance of penile/vaginal penetration, one instance of lingual/vaginal penetration

1. In the evening of 27 June 2024, FP met you at the reserve again. By prior arrangement with you, she was wearing a short, blue dress and no underwear. Prior to this meeting, you told her that you had had a vasectomy.
2. Whilst standing upright, you hugged, kissed and grabbed her on the bottom. She held onto you, whilst you reached underneath her dress and inserted two of your fingers into her vagina.
3. You removed your fingers and told her to let you go and move away, which she did. You then stepped behind her, bent her over, unzipped your pants and inserted your penis into her vagina. You penetrated her in this position for a couple of minutes. You did not wear a condom.
4. After this, you both walked to your car, and you drove to Nortons Park, Wantirna South. You kissed her and then you got out of the car.
5. You walked around the car and opened FP's front passenger side door. You turned her, so her legs were out of the car door. You pushed her down onto her back and lifted her legs up. You licked and rubbed your tongue 'all over' her vagina, before inserting your tongue into her vagina.
6. You then inserted your fingers inside FP's vagina, moving them in and out.
7. You removed a picnic rug from the boot of the car and put it down on the ground beside the car. FP lay down on the rug so that her face and stomach were pressed into the rug, but her bottom was in the air. You inserted your penis into her vagina. She felt you were penetrating her vagina 'pretty hard' and continued in this way until you ejaculated inside her vagina.
8. You withdrew your penis and she turned around. You wrapped your arm around her stomach. In this position, you kissed her and inserted a few of your fingers into her vagina, moving them in and out. FP rolled completely onto her back and you continued to penetrate her vagina with your fingers until it started to sting, so she moved your hand away.
9. FP removed her dress. Whilst on the blanket, you penetrated her vagina with your penis until you ejaculated inside her for a second time.
10. You both moved up onto your knees, where you continued to penetrate her vagina with your penis. You smacked her on the bottom, and kissed her for a few minutes.
11. She got dressed while you put the picnic blanket back in the boot of the car.
12. You kissed her before she got out of the car outside XXXX. FP tripped and fell onto your car. You 'zoomed off' as she picked herself up.

Incident #4 - Charge 4 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16, one instance of penile/vaginal penetration)

1. In the evening of 11 July 2024, FP met you at the reserve again, before you drove her in your car to Nortons Park, Wantirna South.
2. FP was lying on the back seat of the car. You removed your shirt, got on top of her and inserted your penis into her vagina. You moved your penis in and out of her vagina.
3. You then drove her home.

Incident #5 - Charge 5 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16 (rolled up charge which includes one instance of lingual/vaginal penetration, one instance of digital/vaginal penetration, two instances of penile/oral penetration, one instance of penile/vaginal penetration)

1. In the evening of 17 July 2024, FP met you at the reserve again. You hugged and kissed at the reserve, before you drove her to Lewis Park Reserve.
2. You both got into the rear of the car. FP was lying down on the rear seat. You licked and sucked her vagina. You then inserted your fingers into her vagina.
3. You inserted your penis into FP's mouth. She sucked your penis. FP was completely still whilst you moved your penis in and out of her mouth for a couple of minutes.
4. She then lay face down on the rear seat. You spread her legs apart by pushing one of her legs off the edge of the seats. You inserted your penis into her vagina, penetrating her 'really hard' which 'hurt a little bit'. She sat up on her knees and placed her arms on the rear headrest. From this position, you got behind her and penetrated her vagina with your penis.
5. You sat on the rear seat, and she sat next to you. You then inserted your penis into her mouth. FP sucked your penis until you ejaculated in her mouth.
6. You drove back to the reserve. You gave FP a bottle of vodka. Prior to meeting on this occasion, she had asked you if you could buy her alcohol, you had replied, 'Yeah, probably, yeah'. You kissed her and said, 'It was $20 bucks, it's pretty strong alcohol, be careful'. She opened the bottle, sniffed the alcohol and said 'It smells like hand sanitiser', before she got out of the car with the alcohol and walked home.
7. Afterwards, FP messaged you and told you it may take a while until she was able to pay you back for the alcohol. She offered to you, 'If you want to, next time I see you, you can fuck my butt'. You replied, 'Don't worry about it'.

Incident #6 - Charge 6 (Sexual Penetration of a Child Under the Age of 16 (rolled up charge which includes four instances of penile/oral penetration)

1. In the evening of 19 July 2024, FP met you at the reserve again. You hugged and kissed her at the reserve, before you both walked back to your car and you drove to Nortons Park. There were multiple other vehicles present there, so you drove to Napier Reserve, Glen Waverley.
2. There you both got out of the car. You retrieved a small headtorch from inside the car, placed it on your head and turned it on. While you were standing, FP got onto her knees and put your penis into her mouth. Using your mobile phone, you attempted to record her sucking your penis; however, the lighting and angles were challenging, so you both got back inside of the car. (Charge 8 - Produce child abuse material)
3. You sat on the rear seat and FP sat on the floor of the footwell in front of you. You inserted your penis into her mouth. While she sucked your penis, you placed the headtorch on the centre console and aimed the light up towards the roof of the car. Using your mobile phone, you filmed her sucking your penis. The recording was captured from a side angle and went for approximately two minutes. While you were recording, you used your other hand to push her head down so that your penis was at the very back of her throat. (Charge 8 cont. - Produce child abuse material)
4. FP was lying down on her back, on the rear seat of the car while you got on top of her. She remained still while you 'fucked [her] face', moving your penis in and out of her mouth. The position 'wasn't really working' and felt 'a little awkward' for both of you, so you stopped.
5. You both got out of the car and she knelt down. You inserted your penis into her mouth. You moved your penis in and out of her mouth in a fast and aggressive manner. She struggled to breathe through this, which 'started hurting really bad'. She placed her hands on your thighs and attempted to push you away. She was unable to verbally tell you to stop as your penis was being aggressively forced down her throat. She pushed on your thighs and tried to pull herself away. You held her hair in your hands, controlling her head, preventing her from pulling away and continued to penetrate her in this way until you ejaculated inside her mouth.
6. You removed your penis from FP's mouth. She started 'coughing, really bad, for a solid probably two minutes'. You zipped up your pants and laughed at her.
7. You kissed her and then drove her to Boronia, to allow her to walk to the house of her friend, DL.[4] This was the last time that you and FP saw each other.

1. On 24 October 2024, a Search Warrant was executed at an address in Macleod. You were arrested by Detective Senior Constable Jordyn Dehnert, and taken to Knox Police Station.
2. You made admissions to having a sexual relationship with FP, however, denied knowing that she was under 16 years of age.
3. Police analysed your phone and located Category 1 Images and Videos of child abuse material on it. Police also located Category 2 Images and Videos of child abuse material on your phone.
4. An analysis was done on your mobile phone and located a total of 276 Child Abuse Material images and videos. These were categorised according to Interpol Baseline Categorisation standards. There were 96 Category 1 images or videos and 180 Category 2 images or videos. (Charge 10 - Possess child abuse material)
5. Snapchat chat communication between yourself and an unknown user 'AR567'[5] included the following:
   • AR567 tells you, 'I'm an 09 baby. Is that okay? That means I'm turning 15 this year. Is that fine'. You reply, 'Yeah that's fine', 'Kinda hot tbh', 'I'm 30'. AR567 later asked, 'My age won't affect us right'. You replied, 'Yeah I still want to have some fun with you for sure'.
   • You sent messages of a sexual nature to AR567, including, 'do you shave your pussy?', 'are you a virgin?' and referenced your penis stating 'It'll feel good sliding into you', and 'cant wait to see you on your knees with it in your mouth'.
   • You wrote, 'would you ever be able to sneak out late at night?' and 'go somewhere not to far away, like a park or a footy oval, park in a private spot then hop in the back of my car' and 'kiss first, see how that feels and if things are going for then I'll have you get on your knees and give me head' and 'I'm gonna test your gag reflex with it'.
   • You wrote, 'Tbh my 2 favourite things when I want to push boundaries are face fucking and anal'. (Charge 9 - Transmitting indecent communications to a person under 16 years of age)

1. You were born in 1983. You were 40 years old at the time of the offending. You are now 41.

1. At the time of the offending, you lived in Macleod with your wife and two young daughters.
2. Although your marriage was not happy at the time, having essentially lost its closeness and intimacy over a period of years, you were a committed family man who was positively involved in the lives of your daughters.
3. You grew up in Lake's Entrance and come from a loving family, who remain supportive of you. Since being bailed on these offences, you have lived with your mother in Lake's Entrance, continuing to perform your work primarily online, although you have occasionally done site visits too.
4. You have not seen or spoken to your wife or daughters since your arrest. You understand that your marriage is over. You do not know when you will next see your daughters. You do not know what they have been told about your absence from their lives. It is a matter of profound anguish to you.

1. You attended Lakes Entrance Primary School and, subsequently, Lakes Entrance Secondary College from year 7 to year 10. You completed VCE at Bairnsdale Secondary College.
2. You commenced a degree in sound engineering at RMIT but found that, whilst you were excellent at the technical aspects of the course, you struggled with committing to the academic and social aspects of university study.

1. You left during second year when offered full time employment as an audio engineer.
2. From there you developed a successful career in that field. This included work overseas. You have held a senior position with your current employer since January 2023. The directors of that company are aware of these charges and remain supportive, although I understand that the sector of the business in which you worked may now need to be shut down.
3. You are clearly an intelligent person with an ability to apply yourself.

1. Since your arrest and bail, you have engaged with psychological treatment aimed at assessing and changing your dysfunctional sexual behaviours and interests. You have engaged willingly and have developed an insight into your offending.
2. As a result of your engagement with that treatment you were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. You also suffer depressive and anxiety related symptoms which are primarily in reaction to your legal predicament and sadness at not being able to see your children anymore.

1. You have no criminal history of any kind. There have been no subsequent charges.

1. Your counsel acknowledged the inherently serious nature of this type of offending. That concession was appropriate. Sexual offences against children are understood by the courts to involve long term harm which is unaffected by apparent consent.
2. Your offending spanned a period of about six weeks and, in relation to FP, involved six separate occasions. That was more than sufficient time to allow you to have reflected on what you were doing.
3. There was a 26-year age gap between you and your victim, which is significant. Some of the sexual acts involved elements of degradation. For example, the slapping of the victim's face and buttocks and penetrating her mouth to the extent that she would choke. Whilst she did agree to those acts, clearly such agreement, in the circumstances, is of little significance. Some acts caused the victim pain. On one occasion the victim was unable to ask you to stop because she was choking. During some penile/vaginal penetrations you did not use a condom.
4. I note that charges 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 are rolled up charges.
5. I also note that charges 7 and 8 involve you documenting the behaviour that founds charges 2 and 6. I acknowledge that care must be taken to avoid double punishment in relation to those charges.
6. Charge 9 involves multiple contacts with an individual who had told you that they were 14 years of age, some of which are highly sexualised.
7. Charge 10 of possession of child abuse material involves both Category 1 and Category 2 images and videos. Whilst the number of items is limited by comparison to many of the cases that come before this court, these images and videos included depictions very young children being sexually penetrated.

1. Your victim, FP, provided a Victim Impact Statement, as did her mother, Ms Susan Wilson.[6] Understandably, both have suffered a great deal as a result of the offending.
2. FP wrote in measured terms about the effect upon her. These have been far-reaching and have interfered with a number of aspects of her life. Her view of the world has been altered, and her relationships with friends and family and others have been changed by the offending. She no longer feels comfortable in herself. She finds that physical touch can now be triggering and overwhelming. She worries about romantic and sexual relationships into the future.
3. Her mother has also been very significantly affected by the offending and is understandably concerned for her daughter.

1. You entered your plea of guilty at the committal mention stage in the Magistrates' Court. It is, therefore, an early plea and you are entitled to a palpable discount on your sentence.
2. Your counsel emphasised that there were several benefits that arose from the plea.
3. There is a utilitarian benefit, saving the court and the community significant resources. In addition, the victim has been spared the experience of cross-examination and the anxiety of not knowing how and when the matter will resolve.
4. It was also said, on your behalf, that your plea bespeaks genuine remorse on your part. Your counsel described you as sorry for your acts and profoundly ashamed of them. I will return to this presently.

1. General deterrence and denunciation are significant considerations for offending of this type. The prevalence of sexual offending against children and the often catastrophic results of such offending underscore the need to deter those who might consider offending in this way.[7] Further, there is a legitimate expectation that a sentence for this type of offending will clearly communicate the community's disapproval of your conduct.

Specific deterrence and prospects of rehabilitation

1. Your counsel submitted that your prospects of rehabilitation were, at the least, very good. Especially, it was said, if you were able to access adequate sex-offender treatment programs.
2. It was pointed out that you have no prior convictions and nothing subsequent and that you have good family support and a strong work history. It was noted that Dr. Barth, who provided a psychological report, had evaluated your risk of future offending as being moderate. However, Dr. Barth also noted that, with continued treatment, this would be expected to reduce.[8] In addition, I note that Dr. Rachel McKenzie, who treated you, expressed the view in her report[9] that you were a good candidate for rehabilitation through treatment. Counsel submitted that your engagement with treatment has been self-driven, genuine and consistent, and this appears to be an accurate description.
3. You provided a letter to the court in which you acknowledged the impacts that your acts have had, both upon FP and upon your own family. Such letters are, perhaps, easy to write in the face of an impending sentence. However, I do accept that your letter does demonstrate a measure of genuine remorse and some insight into the consequences of your offending.
4. The prosecution, for its part, conceded that you have good prospects of rehabilitation, having regard to the available material. I accept that conclusion.
5. Accordingly, the need for specific deterrence, in your case, is reduced.

1. Your counsel specifically eschewed reliance on any of the principles of Verdins case.[10] However, he submitted that there were two ways in which your mental health was relevant to the sentencing task.
2. Firstly, it was submitted that your limited capacity to interact with and evaluate other people went some way to explaining how you were so blind to the obvious moral deficiency of your behaviour. In particular, how you misunderstood and grossly overestimated the ability of children to meaningfully consent.
3. I note, in this regard, that Dr. Barth commented that you had attributed a precocious maturity to the underaged complainant which allowed you to rationalise your sexual offending with her. Dr. Barth does not specifically relate that thought process to your diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, but either way, it goes to moral culpability. Having said that, it is clear that you are an intelligent individual who would not have had to think too hard in order to realise that your acts were seriously wrong, had you been willing to turn your mind to the issue. Accordingly, any reduction in moral culpability on this basis can only be modest.
4. Secondly, it was said that your unusual, immature and unskilful social presentation will render you vulnerable within the prison population.
5. I accept that there is a likelihood that you will find the prison environment more challenging than others.

1. The offence of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 is a standard sentence offence. The standard sentence is 6 years imprisonment. That sentence represents the sentence that, taking into account only the objective factors affecting the relative seriousness of the offence, is in the middle range of seriousness.
2. The standard sentence is simply another factor to consider in the instinctive synthesis process and, like other such factors, is not, of itself, determinative. I take it into account in that way in relation to charges 1 to 6 on the indictment.
3. The sentences that I have imposed in this case are less than the standard sentence in each instance as a result of matters personal to you, chiefly that your engagement with treatment has been consistent and your prospects of rehabilitation are good.

1. Charges 1 to 8 and 10 on the indictment are sexual offences under clause 1 of Schedule 1 of the Sentencing Act 1991.[11] As I will be sentencing you to terms of imprisonment in relation to each of those charges, the serious sexual offender provisions will be enlivened after the sentences imposed on charges 1 and 2.[12] Therefore, in relation to charges 3 to 8 and charge 10, you will be sentenced as a serious sexual offender. In relation to those charges the protection of the community becomes the principal purpose for which the sentence is imposed. Further, every term of imprisonment imposed on a serious offender for a relevant offence must be served cumulatively unless otherwise directed by the court.[13] I shall return to this. I note that the prosecution has not sought the imposition of a disproportionate sentence.[14]

1. I was provided with a number of comparable cases in order to assist in identifying current sentencing practices.[15] It is safe to say that no two cases are entirely alike, and that, as a result, care must be taken when assessing the relative applicability of such cases. Further, I note that current sentencing practices are, again, but one factor to be taken into account and are not, of themselves, determinative of the available sentencing range.
2. Having said all of that, I found the cases provided to me to be of assistance in illuminating relevant sentencing practices. In addition to those cases, I have examined relevant cases referred to in the Judicial College of Victoria's Sentencing Manual case summaries collection in order to obtain an overview of the sentencing landscape. I note that I am limited in the cases that I can consider when sentencing for a standard sentence offence to sentences previously imposed for the relevant offence as a standard sentence offence.[16]

1. Section 11A of the Sentencing Act 1991[17] requires that, unless the court considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so, the court must fix a non-parole period that is at least 60% of the total effective sentence imposed. In this case I regard it appropriate to impose a non-parole period that is somewhat above that 60% mark.

1. I mentioned that the serious offender provisions included a presumption that terms of imprisonment be served cumulatively upon each other unless the court otherwise ordered. In this case the principle of totality requires that there be significant concurrency applied to the sentences imposed in order to avoid the imposition of a total effective sentence that would be crushing in nature, and I shall sentence accordingly.

1. After having carefully considered, balanced and weighed all of the relevant sentencing considerations, I sentence you as follows:

Sexual penetration of a child under 16 years (rolled up)

Sexual penetration of a child under 16 years (rolled up)

Sexual penetration of a child under 16 years (rolled up)

Sexual penetration of a child under 16 years (rolled up)

Sexual penetration of a child under 16 years (rolled up)

1. On the state charges I am therefore sentencing you to a total effective sentence (TES) of 8 years imprisonment. I declare that you are to serve 5 years before you become eligible for parole.
2. On the Commonwealth charge of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communications to a person under 16 years of age, I sentence you to 6 months imprisonment. I direct that the sentence be served concurrently with the state sentences imposed in this case.

1. You have presently served 42 days in custody (not including today) and that figure will be declared under section 18 of the Sentencing Act 1991 as time having been served under this sentence.[18]

s 6AAA

1. But for your plea of guilty I would have sentenced you to a TES of 10 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 6 years and 6 months.

Sex Offenders' Registration Act

1. The charge of sexual penetration of a person under 16 years is a Class 1 offence under the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004.[19] The production and possession of child abuse material charges are both Class 2 offences under that act. Having been found guilty of those offences, the act requires your registration. As a result of the fact that you have been found guilty of two or more Class 1 offences, the applicable reporting period is life.

[7] Clarkson v The Queen [2011] VSCA 157; (2011) 32 VR 361, [383]-[384].

[8] Report dated 10 October 2025 [57(h)].

[9] Report dated 19 October 2025 [19].

[10] R v Verdins & Ors [2007] VSCA 102 ('Verdins').

[11] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).

[12] Ibid s 6B.

[13] Ibid s 6E.

[14] Ibid s 6D.

[15] DPP v Dissabayake [2024] VSCA 320; Sims v the Queen [2022] VSCA 114; DPP v Conos [2021] VSCA 367; DPP v Nwigwe [2022] VSCA 14.

[16] Sentencing Act (n 11) s 5B(2)(b).