Circumstances of the Offending
5Based on the evidence at trial, I make the following findings of fact. The evidence comprised the Crown case against the offender, who did not give evidence.
6The offender first met the victim at a restaurant in Chinatown in July 2009. She was there with her mother and two friends of her mother, John Bennati and Rebecca Garbut. The offender was a cousin of Rebecca Garbut.
7On meeting the victim who was at the time 15 years of age, the offender commented on his belief that her eyes were dilated and her lips had changed colour, thereby indicating that upon their meeting there was formed between them a "special connection". At the time the offender was 40 years of age. The offender said this in a way in which it was heard by all of those present at the table, including the victim's mother. He also presented the victim with an envelope which contained a card and notes. It became Exhibit A at the trial and comprised messages from a young woman purporting to be named "Samantha". The evidence in the trial established that "Samantha" was fictitious, a figment of the offender's imagination. The messages from "Samantha" included one message that referred in terms to "Sir", referring to the offender.
8One of the matters discussed over dinner was that the victim had been to a singing audition that day, as part of a Government sponsored talented persons development program. She felt the audition did not go well as one of the women conducting the audition had not been supportive towards her. In response to being told this, the offender asked the victim whether she was having her period, and told those present that, in his view, often women who are not menstruating at the same time conflicted with each other.
9Over dinner the offender told the victim and her mother that he had contacts in the music industry, that those contacts were responsible as either coaches or managers of well known artists including Nikki Webster and Gabrielle Cilmi, and that if they wished, he could assist the victim's career by arranging meetings with them.
10The victim and her mother had flown from Ballina to Sydney for the audition. When they returned home, both received phone calls from the offender over the ensuing weeks and months. The evidence established that the offender obtained the victim's mobile phone number from his cousin, Rebecca Garbut.
11A few days prior to 28 October 2009, the offender contacted the victim by mobile phone and told her that over the upcoming weekend, which was described as a halloween weekend, there were a number of parties happening in Sydney at which would be present important people he knew in the music industry or who were involved in NIDA or Brent Street (a musical academy), and that it was imperative that she come to Sydney to attend those parties with him so that she could meet these influential people. The offender also spoke to the victim's mother and notwithstanding that it was just before her end of year school exams, the offender persuaded the victim's mother to allow the victim to fly unaccompanied to Sydney at his expense.
12The victim believed that she was to be met at the airport by John Bennati and Rebecca Garbut, but in fact when she arrived at approximately 6.30pm on Wednesday 28 October 2009, it was the offender who met her at Sydney Airport. He presented her with what was described as a "welcome bag" (Exhibit B). This comprised a gift bag, with a number of items in it. Those items included four condoms, a set of what are known as "nipple clamps" and postit notes which purported to be signed by a number of young women, including "Samantha". The notes included phrases such as:
"Hi! So hardcore. Love Samantha"
"Ask and he will tell ..." and
"Sir, Please give to E * you can trust her fully"
13The welcome gift also included a $50 note with a pentagram inscribed on it.
14The offender took the victim to his car in the car park and upon opening the front door, he removed a box containing, (and which was clearly visible to the victim), pornographic material involving naked men and women. He placed that material in the boot where there was other similar material in boxes containing other items such as masks. The offender then spent the evening driving the victim to a number of places around Sydney including a leather factory, the Dental Hospital and a hotel near Haymarket where the victim and her mother had stayed during their visit to Sydney in July that year. At the Dental Hospital the offender had left the car and had told the victim that he was to meet someone to purchase drugs, "so as to assist a young person who he believed to be taking drugs, by somehow having the drugs traced". How the drugs were to be traced was not explained by the evidence. In addition to stopping at McDonalds to have a meal, the evidence revealed that the offender drove around a number of other areas of Sydney, arriving at his place at Claremont Meadows, at 2am in the morning. The victim had fallen asleep in the car and after their arrival at the offender's home she went straight to sleep on a sofa bed set up in a living room in the house.
15The victim woke at 10am the next day. When she awoke, the offender was standing nearby her dressed in a t-shirt only, so that his penis and buttocks were exposed. The victim averted her eyes and removed herself to the bathroom where she had a shower and dressed. This is the conduct that established the first count.
16The victim thereafter observed the house to be full of items stored by the offender. In fact, the house was an absolute mess. This is shown in Exhibits C & D, photographs showing parts of the living areas in the house and also in Exhibit L, being the video taken by Police on 18 January 2010 when they conducted a search of the premises pursuant to a search warrant.
17In the living area where the sofa bed had been set up for the victim to sleep on, there were stored a large number of pornographic DVDs and videos. Throughout the house was spread a large amount of clothing, including uniforms and female clothing made from PVC and leather of a revealing nature. There were also a number of dildos within the premises.
18The evidence revealed that prior to the victim's arrival, Louise Halloran, who also lived at the premises, had spent some time over the previous two days cleaning the premises and covering up what was clearly offensive material which the jury ultimately found was indecent material.
19On Thursday 29 October 2009 the offender took the victim to visit John Bennati and Rebecca Garbut at her parent's home, and then the four of them attended what was known as a safety show at Homebush. On Thursday night the offender took the victim to Westfield shopping mall at Parramatta where they shopped for clothing for the victim. During part of that shopping trip the offender recommended to the victim that she buy items which were somewhat revealing which he recommended would suit her stage presence.
20On Thursday evening when they arrived back at the offender's home late in the evening, the victim tried to go to sleep, but was prevented from doing so by the offender playing music in the living area close to where she was to sleep. The offender then suggested the victim try on some shoes, and items of clothing. This led to the offender bringing boxes of clothing for the victim to try on. In the event, the victim did not get to sleep until the early hours of the morning.
21On Friday 30 October 2009 the offender took the victim to see a friend of his, Gael Robinson, who is a music teacher. This was the only thing the offender did that was remotely connected with the victim's interest in furthering her singing career. Gael Robinson in fact was a music teacher, who had participated in the 2000-strong marching band at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and had not coached or managed Nikki Webster at all. In fact, Gael Robinson had been in an intimate relationship with the offender and had participated in what were known as BDSM practises with him during that relationship. This was something that the offender had discussed with the victim on her first night in Sydney whilst he drove around parts of Sydney.
22The victim discussed some aspects of BDSM with Gael Robinson, however, once Gael Robinson found out that she was only 15 years of age, she ceased that conversation.
23Following that visit, the offender took the victim to Warringah shopping mall where the victim again shopped for clothes, and for part of the time the offender assisted in that process. When they eventually arrived home very late that night, the offender introduced the victim to what was known as the "make-up room" where he showed her various items of make-up and documents.
24The victim had arranged to meet the son of John Bennati the next day, and attend a Halloween party with him. Mr Bennati's son's name was James Bennati, and he was waiting to hear from the victim on Saturday as arranged between them. After she woke up on Saturday afternoon, the offender informed the victim that he had spoken to James Bennati who had informed him that there would be drugs at the party they were attend, and in fact, that James Bennati had already consumed some pills on that day. The offender therefore informed the victim that he would not permit her to attend the party, as "he knew what gays were like in Sydney".
25During the afternoon the victim was again shown to the "make-up room". The offender said words to her that it was hot in the room and that she needed to drink something. He then left and came back with a crystal glass of coco-cola which she consumed. The victim began to feel her heart racing and noticed that she was speaking rapidly. Later that afternoon the offender took the victim to a place near Penrith called the Lennox Bridge, which the victim described in a text message to her mother as being a "magical place". It was clear that at the time of her attendance at Lennox Bridge, the victim was affected by drugs she had ingested.
26Upon their return to the offender's home, throughout Saturday night, the offender provided the victim with two more glasses of coca-cola. On the last occasion, before handing the coca-cola to her, she observed him to stir it with a swizzle stick. She spent several hours that evening in the backyard of the premises with Louise Halloran who had an interest in astronomy.
27Later, the offender showed the victim again to the "make-up room" where he showed supplies of make-up he had stored there, together with other documents and materials. At one stage the offender asked the victim to put lipstick on him, and told her that he trusted her enough to do so. She declined. The offender also informed the victim that she would learn things in that room which would confuse her, and which she must not discuss with her mother. Again, the victim responded by saying that she and her mother shared everything and that they were a team. She said there was nothing that she would not have told her mother.
28The offender informed the victim of his interest in BDSM, of the fact that he was into nipple piercing which assisted in the control of one's sexual partner, that sex should involve pain, and that there was a sect in Germany which had been established for 450 years that was run by seven women who were replaced every 40 years, and that the victim would be one of the next seven women chosen.
29In addition, the offender showed the victim various materials and documents, including Exhibit F, a document drawn on yellow note paper which contained various offensive entries which the Crown relied on as amounting to indecent material. It was this material, together with the items the offender showed the victim at the airport, in his car, and items in his house which established the conduct in count 2 of the Indictment.
30The victim was not receptive to any of the material the offender either showed her or informed her about. Rather, she insisted that she was not interested on each occasion. At no time did the offender force her to do anything, nor did he touch or interfere with her.
31It is clear that the victim was well affected by the ingestion of drugs during the Saturday evening and Sunday morning. It was the provision of amphetamines which established the conduct in count 3 of the indictment.
32The victim did not sleep at all on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning was invited by the offender to pack up any of the clothing she had examined or tried on whilst she was in the house, and a suitcase was provided to her to take whatever she liked back home. She did pack the suitcase, and it contained numerous items which could be regarded as inappropriate for a 15 year old girl.
33The offender then took the victim to the airport in the early afternoon of Sunday 1 November 2009 where they were met by John Bennati and Rebecca Garbut. Rebecca Garbut noticed that the victim was "highly wired" at the airport. Upon her arrival back at Ballina airport, her mother immediately observed the victim to be not herself, and wanted to take her straight to the hospital. The victim resisted and said that she just wanted to go home. Following her arrival home, the victim could not sleep and told her mother everything that had happened. She eventually fell asleep on her mother's bed. She woke early next morning and was persuaded to go to a Medical Clinic where a urine sample was taken for testing.
34On 3 November 2009 they were advised of the results of that urine testing which showed traces of either methamphetamine or amphetamine in her blood. The victim's mother informed the Police who came to their home to interview the victim. She attended the next day, 5 November 2009, at the Medical Centre and was there examined by Dr Wetherall who gave evidence in the proceedings. His evidence was that the symptoms she exhibited were consistent with ingestion of amphetamines.
35The investigating Police set up three phone calls between the victim and the offender, and the transcripts of those phone calls are Exhibits N, M and O in the proceedings. A search was conducted of the offender's premises on 18 January 2010 following which he underwent an ERISP interview with Detective Senior Constable Sheehan. The interview and transcript became Exhibits R and S in the proceedings.
36The jury verdicts confirmed that the offender indecently exposed himself to the victim who was then aged 15 years, by waking her up on Thursday 29 October 2009 wearing no more than a t-shirt and exposing his penis and buttocks to her. The jury verdicts also confirmed that the offender exposed the victim to indecent material during the relevant period with the intention of procuring her for unlawful sexual activity. The jury verdict also confirmed that the offender provided her with an intoxicating substance, namely methamphetamines or amphetamines, with the intention of procuring her for unlawful sexual activity.