Man sentenced to community service for 2020 sexual assault of 15-year-old
A man was sentenced to community service and corrections, not jail, for assaulting a 15-year-old girl while camping in 2020.
A man was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Launceston on November 4 after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assault. The crimes occurred in January 2020 when the then-21-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl went camping at Bridport.
The girl woke up to find him touching her genitals and breasts without consent. The girl left the tent, called a friend, and asked him to take her home.
He apologised and said he had fallen in love with her. After telling her parents, the girl and the man began a relationship lasting three years with no sexual contact until she was older.
After the relationship ended, the girl reported the assault to police in October 2025. Justice Robert Pearce sentenced the man to a 12-month community corrections order and 49 hours of community service, saying the behaviour showed poor judgment rather than predatory intent.
- November 4, 2026
- When sentenced
- January 8, 2020
- Assault date
- Bridport camping site
- Where assaulted
Why it mattersCourt sentences in sexual assault cases shape how the law treats crimes against children and what consequences offenders face.
AustraliaThis Tasmanian case will inform how courts in Australia approach sentencing in similar cases involving young people.
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