Josh Ryan Fenwick, 29, is assisted by his lawyer from Legal Aid, Amelie McCarthy, last year. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to sexual assault.
A 16-year-old girl was “effectively stranded in a stranger’s house” when she was sexually assaulted by a man 10 years her senior, a judge said before handing the rapist a jail sentence.
Earlier this week, the young woman told Josh Ryan Fenwick in court about how she lost years of her life due to the pain he caused.
Then on Tuesday (3 February), the now-29-year-old was sentenced to a total of two years’ jail with a one-year non-parole period.
He was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent in an ACT Supreme Court trial last year.
Acting Justice Peter Berman said in September 2022, two 16-year-old girls, including the victim, went out in Civic, drank alcohol and met the then-26-year-old Fenwick and his friend.
Fenwick suggested they go back to his home to party, so they caught one of the last trams of the night back to his residence. He suggested to the girls that they have a ‘threesome’, but the victim declined.
Later that night, she was in Fenwick’s bedroom when he pushed her onto the bed, kissed her, tried to get her to touch his body, pinned her arms down, took off her shirt and digitally raped her.
She managed to leave the room when he moved and took off her pants.
Acting Justice Berman said Fenwick intended, or at least hoped, there would be sexual activity between him and at least one of the two girls when he invited them back to his house that night, but the victim repeatedly rebuffed him.
He said the girl was vulnerable, significantly younger than Fenwick, intoxicated and in a stranger’s home with no easy means of leaving. He was satisfied Fenwick knew she didn’t consent.
The judge also said Fenwick denied there had been any sexual contact between him and the girl at all when he spoke to police. But forensic testing found his DNA on the girl’s underpants.
“The guilty verdict was no surprise at all,” the judge said.
He was satisfied that the girl gave truthful and reliable evidence.
“She has suffered greatly,” the acting justice said.
“The offender is the cause of that harm.”
Fenwick said he had a difficult childhood and worked as a barber.
He pleaded guilty and maintains his innocence. The court previously heard he will file an appeal.
As his sentence was backdated to account for time he already spent in custody, he will be eligible to be released from January 2027.
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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