A Dubbo man who admitted to fondling a 12-year-old boy's genital region last year had been under ankle monitored supervision for two previous like-offences, a court has heard.
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The 68-year-old cannot be named by order of the court to protect the identity of the victim and his family.
Appearing in Dubbo Local Court via video link from Junee Correctional Centre, the man was sentenced on April 14 to a two-year term of imprisonment after earlier pleading guilty to intentionally sexually touching a child between the age of 10 and 16.
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Court documents show that sometime between January and July in 2020, the man was visiting a friend's house for tea and coffee when the incident occurred.
When the man's friend went to use the bathroom, he approached a boy that was at the same residence.
The boy was watching television in the lounge room when the 68-year-old told him to lay down.
After the boy asked "why?", the man proceeded to open the child's pants and touch the outside of his underwear.
The boy pushed the man away and said "you're a f---ing idiot", before the victim ran outside the home.
Department of Public Prosecutions solicitor Hallie Warnock said it was the crown's submission that the threshold had been "well and truly crossed" with this incident.
The court heard the 68-year-old had been on parole at the time of the offence for two similar offences of the same nature, and was subjected to ankle monitoring supervision.
"There's no leniency the court could afford for supervision, when he was on the most strict form of supervision and he still breached it with the same similar offending," Ms Warnock said.
Ms Warnock said it was "quite confronting" the nature of offending was similar in the past.
"With one of the offences, he befriends the parents to abuse his position of trust, much like has happened here," she said.
"It was premeditated by befriending [an adult] to gain access to the child, which in itself is very worrisome."
She argued it was in the best interests of the community that a maximum custodial sentence of two years be recorded on the man's criminal history.
However under section 58 of the crimes sentencing procedure act, Magistrate Gary Wilson was unable to impose a new sentence of imprisonment consecutively with an existing sentence of imprisonment, if the new sentence would end more than five years after the date of the existing sentence.
"This is just unfortunately another very serious offence that you've committed of similar nature to matters in the past. I can only impose a two-year term of imprisonment that's the extent of the jurisdiction of this court," Magistrate Wilson said.
"What I'm limited and restricted to do, is impose and to have on your record - which I think is appropriate in the circumstances - a term of imprisonment from December 2013 to December 2015."
The court heard there was an application made for a child protection prohibition order.