16 October 2025

'Wounds run deep' in family affected by man's abuse of 11-year-old girl

| By Albert McKnight

Shegu Bobb leaves the ACT Courts during his jury trial earlier this year. Photo: Albert McKnight.

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.

The mother of an 11-year-old girl indecently assaulted by a man she met on a dating app says her entire family have been devastated by the impacts of his crimes.

Shegu Bobb was found guilty of exchanging indecent messages and photos with the girl over a dating app called Badoo before he indecently assaulted her in his car.

It was in 2020, and he was 21. While the girl set her age as 19 on the dating app, she weighed about 30 kg and was about 140 cm tall.

In a statement given to the ACT Supreme Court for Bobb’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday (15 October), the girl’s mother said the shock of what happened to her daughter had deeply affected every member of their family.

“They have witnessed their sister’s pain and confusion,” the mother said of her other children.

The trauma created a ripple effect that changed the family’s dynamic, she said. They were now more withdrawn, cautious and were constantly on edge.

She also said her family had to move interstate because it became clear that staying in Canberra was no longer an option as “the environment felt unsafe and triggering”.

“We felt powerless to protect our children in a place that now held so much pain,” the mother said.

“The crime committed against the victim has had devastating consequences for our entire family.

“The emotional and psychological wounds run deep.”

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Prosecutor Marcus Dyason said the girl made it clear that she didn’t want to engage in sexual behaviour in Bobb’s car before he indecently assaulted her.

“There was no ambiguity about it,” he said.

“It was a clear expression, ‘I don’t want to do this, I feel scared’.”

Barrister James Sabharwal said his client had written a letter to the court in which he expressed deep remorse for his unacceptable conduct.

“He stands before you taking responsibility for what he has done,” Mr Sabharwal said.

“He acknowledges the harm his actions have had on the victim.”

He said his client, who had a traumatic upbringing, claimed he was in a depressive and anxious mental state at the time of his offences, which may have compromised his ability to make reasonable decisions.

Mr Dyason accepted Bobb experienced childhood deprivation and had shown hints of remorse.

“[But] they are really hints of remorse without insight into the offending,” he said.

He argued that the only appropriate sentence involved a term of full-time jail.

Justice Belinda Baker reserved her sentence decision for Bobb, who remains on bail, and will hand it down at a future date.

She said there was no question that the threshold for her to consider imposing a jail sentence had been crossed, but she had to give full weight to his subjective case during the sentencing process.

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At the end of his Supreme Court jury trial earlier this year, the then-27-year-old Bobb was found guilty of seven charges, but acquitted of two others.

He was found guilty of three counts of using a carriage service for child abuse material, two counts of using a carriage service to procure a person under 16 and single counts of transmitting indecent communication to a person under 16 and committing an act of indecency on a person under 16.

Bobb testified himself in his trial, repeatedly claiming he thought the girl was at least 19 when they were messaging over the app. He said when he met her, he thought she was “a petite 19-year-old”.

When the now-teenage girl was cross-examined, his defence lawyers suggested she had never told him she was under 18 when talking to him via the app.

“I’m not sure,” she said.

“But if I had this photo on my profile, I think it would be pretty obvious I was under 18.”

Jurors had previously seen the photo the girl used on her Badoo profile.

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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