Magistrate Jane Campbell said the sexual abuse represented “completely unwanted contact”. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to child abuse.
A man will stay behind bars until at least mid-year following assaults that left victims “absolutely terrified” in Canberra’s north last year.
Joshua William Bishop, 39, met two 14-year-old girls at a shopping centre in Holt on 28 June, 2025, before they went to his home, with the plan that he would drive them to Tuggeranong.
On Friday (27 February), Magistrate Jane Campbell handed him jail time over what followed.
“They were placing their trust in him. … You [Bishop] abused that trust,” she told him.
Instead, outside of his home and while his mother was inside, he racially abused or assaulted several people, including the two girls.
He put his arm around one of the girls’ necks in a “rear chokehold” and pulled her to the ground, where he sexually assaulted her.
Magistrate Campbell said she was likely “absolutely terrified”.
A woman tried to pull Bishop off her, but he assaulted her by hitting her in the chest.
During the incident, he also racially abused the other girl, who called the police.
Magistrate Campbell said the court could infer that the impacts of Bishop’s behaviour were ongoing and had caused harm, particularly towards the girls.
She said they were vulnerable because of their young age.
“This type of offending on young girls changes a girl’s life … [It] changes their sense of safety,” she said.
“This was completely unwanted contact from you.”
The court also heard that the assault on the bystander had left her in pain.
Bishop was refused bail in the aftermath of the offending and has spent about eight months in custody since then.
On Friday, Bishop’s lawyer said the time in custody was “best described as a wake-up call” for his client.
“He ultimately needs to decide whether he wants to finish himself behind bars … or make more of his life,” the lawyer said.
He also urged the court to hand down a sentence that would promote rehabilitation, and said Bishop’s criminal history was “inherently” connected with his drug use.
The court heard that Bishop has a positive relationship with family members and intends to resume his employment after his release from custody.
He has also been sober while in custody, but Magistrate Campbell said the author of a court report raised concerns about his potential relapses into drug use after time in custody.
“The concern of the writer of the report is … once he’s back in the community, he’s using drugs,” she said.
Bishop had also been assessed to be unsuitable for an intensive community corrections order (a community-based sentence).
The court also heard that he was judged to represent an above-average risk of sexual reoffending, and there was an outstanding interstate warrant for him.
Magistrate Campbell said his criminal history limited the leniency the court could show.
She said community protection needed to be a key part of sentencing.
“This was an attack on strangers, essentially.”
For two counts of common assault, one count of committing an act of indecency on a person under 16 and a choking-related charge, he was handed a total sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
It was backdated to account for time spent in custody, meaning he will be eligible for release in July, and was discounted due to his guilty pleas.
Magistrate Campbell also took no action on a breach of a good behaviour order.
With KFC & Hungry Jacks in Wright, Maccas & Oporto in North Weston. Who will be left for the… View