Phillip Cody Welty, pictured after he was originally granted bail in 2024. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to child abuse.
A middle-aged child abuser will be released from jail later this month after admitting he spent two days grooming a “very, very vulnerable” underage girl who lives with an intellectual disability.
The ACT Magistrates Court heard how the then-39-year-old Phillip Cody Welty invited the girl, who was under 16 at the time, to his Canberra home a number of times over a couple of days in November 2024.
The reasons he did so was because he had a “romantic interest” in her, Magistrate Glenn Theakston told the court this week (15 January).
The court heard the girl went to his home and he gave her alcohol, cannabis and a vape, while also paying for her Ubers so she could be driven to visit him. They exchanged 52 calls, although some of these were missed calls, over those days.
Welty told her he wouldn’t pressure her into having sex with him and would wait until she was ready.
But the girl went to police, who raided his property. Some days afterwards, the girl returned to his home, but he refused to let her in.
The prosecutor said the girl would have been extremely vulnerable when she was met by Welty, who is now 40.
Also, the prosecutor said he told the author of a court report that he had previously had sexual relationships with girls aged between 16 and 17, which he thought was appropriate.
When speaking to the author, he also claimed he thought his victim was 17.
But Magistrate Theakston said these comments did not help him and suggested he was unwilling to show insight into his offending.
Phillip Cody Welty was sentenced to a total of 13 months’ jail. Photo: Albert McKnight.
Welty was originally granted bail after he was arrested and went on to plead guilty to a charge of grooming a young person, while he was acquitted of other charges relating to the girl at a hearing.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and minor theft over an incident on 28 December 2024.
This related to when he was living in a caravan park and was invited to a neighbour’s cabin, where he stole a mobile phone and threatened the neighbour with a baseball bat.
His lawyer, Edward Chen of Legal Aid, said his client had spent 386 days in custody by the time of his sentencing on Thursday.
He said the court could not be satisfied the grooming was premeditated, as his client met the girl by happenstance.
Magistrate Theakston said Welty, a father-of-two, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and smoked methamphetamine before going into custody, but now wished to remain abstinent from the drug.
The magistrate said it was clear the girl was “very, very vulnerable” and “much, much younger” than Welty, but he was also vulnerable himself due to his mental health challenges.
Welty was convicted and sentenced to a total of 13 months’ jail, backdated to account for time served which means he will be released from custody in late January 2026.
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 on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
If you have been affected by sexual violence, or someone you know has, you can report it to police by attending a police station or phoning 131 444.
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