Public servant had 'attitude of entitlement' when assaulting colleague after Christmas party

CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to rape.

A public servant was acting with a “sense of entitlement” towards his colleague when he assaulted her, a court has found.

The 29-year-old man attended a workplace Christmas party in December 2022 where the victim was also present. Following the workplace party, the man would assault the woman twice.

Region has chosen not to name the man to avoid identifying the victim.

In a recently released decision, Supreme Court Justice Louise Taylor said the man had shown no consideration for the woman’s wishes.

She explained the evidence had shown the man had shown a “persistent refusal to accept the unequivocal ‘no'” from the victim.

“It was conduct borne of a sense of entitlement to pursue his own sexual gratification at the expense of, and with no regard for, the victim.”

The offence occurred when the two left the Christmas party at about 10 pm to meet up with some colleagues at a different location, and later went to a bar in Garema Place.

While the two were sitting at a table, the man touched the woman’s leg, hand, and arm several times and repeatedly asked if she would “go home” with him, which she declined.

The man then reached over the table and touched her breast twice without her consent.

Afterwards, the two left the bar and went to the victim’s car, as she had offered to drive him home because he was intoxicated.

While she was driving, he again asked if she would go to his residence, which she refused.

The man then reached over and digitally raped her.

“She was, in effect, ‘trapped’ in place and by virtue of that was limited in the immediate action that she could take in response to the offender’s conduct,” Justice Taylor said.

“The action she was able to take caused the vehicle to swerve and was successful in moving the offender back to his side of the vehicle.”

The man pled not guilty, and was found guilty of committing an act of indecency without consent and engaging in sexual intercourse without consent in a jury trial.

In sentencing the man, Justice Taylor said he had continually tried to pressure the woman into sexual activity, despite her repeated objections.

“The victim had made her lack of sexual or romantic interest in the offender clear,” she said.

“The offender was undeterred, both in the face of the victim’s more subtle attempts to shift the conversation and in response to her direct and unequivocal ‘no’ to his invitation to engage in sexual activity.”

After the rape, the victim was diagnosed with PTSD, and also experienced issues with driving.

The man had since shown no remorse for his actions, which Justice Taylor said were driven by an “attitude of entitlement” towards the woman.

“The offender violated the victim because he felt entitled to do so,” she said.

During the sentencing process, five character references were provided to the court that spoke of surprise at how the man offended. Justice Taylor accepted his lack of a criminal history, family support and ongoing employment as good signs of his rehabilitative prospects.

“Those prospects would be enhanced further if the offender was able to truly ‘reckon’ with the nature and extent of his conduct and confront the mindset that accompanied the harm that he caused to the victim,” she said.

Justice Taylor sentenced the man to a total of two years and four months imprisonment.

The sentence will be suspended in June 2025, after he serves four months. He will then be handed a good behaviour order until June 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 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.

You can also submit an online report about a historical sexual assault allegation for incidents that occurred more than six months ago.