Paul James Donnelly (right) leaves the ACT Courts with his solicitor, Mitchell Greig of Hugo Law Group. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual assault.
A man who raped his Tinder match and filmed intimate videos of her without her consent avoided being sent to jail when he was sentenced.
The judge who sentenced him admitted this was an unusual outcome.
Last week, the woman who survived Paul James Donnelly’s assault faced him in the ACT Supreme Court when describing the impact his offences had on her.
“The question that haunts me every day is ‘why?’ she said.
“How hard is it to ask the simple words, ‘Can I?'”
She then watched from the courtroom’s gallery on Wednesday (8 October) as Donnelly was sentenced to 20 months’ jail to be served by an intensive corrections order (ICO) in the community.
She met him on the Tinder dating app in 2023 before they began talking on another social media app, Snapchat.
On two occasions when they met up, he filmed their sexual interactions without asking for her consent, then sent the videos to her.
Later, they booked into a hotel and had consensual sex. But he then had sex with her without her consent and continued despite her telling him she was in pain.
When she messaged him later that day and told him she hadn’t enjoyed the sex, he apologised.
Justice David Mossop said the filming of the sexual acts was degrading as it “reduced those acts to their bare mechanics and objectified the victim”.
Donnelly sent five intimate videos to the woman and Justice Mossop said the most significant feature of this crime was how he seemed to have sent her videos without realising that they may have been unwelcome.
Psychologist Tabitha Frew diagnosed him with Autism and ADHD and thought both impairments contributed to his offending.
Donnelly pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of non-consensual distribution of intimate images.
He spent three days in custody before he was granted bail.
Justice Mossop said it was not usual for a charge of sexual intercourse without consent to be dealt with by an ICO, but he thought it was appropriate in this case as Donnelly’s diagnosis of Autism contributed to his offending and meant he would have a difficult time in custody.
The judge also took into account the impact a jail sentence would have on the 38-year-old’s wife and baby.
In addition to the ICO, Donnelly must perform 249 hours of community service, was fined $5000 and placed on a two-year good behaviour order.
After the judge left the courtroom, he was seen hugging his baby tightly.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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