A man sexually abused a 12-year-old girl with an intellectual disability after meeting her at a shopping centre in what a judge has described as a "very, very concerning situation".
Laurence Martin Coghlan faced a sentence hearing in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 20, after pleading guilty to a rolled up charge of having sexual intercourse with a child.
The 57-year-old sexually assaulted the girl at his home in December 2024 after first meeting her at the Belconnen shopping centre.
The court heard the pair initially started chatting about Mr Coghlan's dog before he invited the girl back to his place. At the house, he asked if she wanted to have a shower and then joined her, despite her protests.
He then took her to the bedroom where he sexually assaulted her.
On Wednesday, a psychologist said she believed Mr Coghlan's untreated schizophrenia had impaired his ability to make reasoned decisions and contributed to his actions.
Acting Justice Patricia Kelly described Coghlan's actions as "opportunistic" and said it was a "a very, very concerning situation", both because of the nature of the crime and the man's untreated mental illness.
"This man has well and truly fallen through the cracks... and the only reason he is getting treatment now is because he has committed a very serious offence," she said.
During the sentence hearing, a prosecutor said there was a clear power imbalance between Coghlan and the girl.
She said the girl's age and vulnerability "must have been obvious" to the man, despite Mr Coghlan's claim to police at the time that he believed she was older.
The judge agreed, describing the victim as "child-like" and "clearly disabled" after viewing police body-worn camera footage recorded around the time of the crime.
The prosecutor said there was also not enough evidence to suggest there was a connection between the man's actions and the symptoms of his schizophrenia, and urged the judge to approach his rehabilitation prospects cautiously.
The man's defence barrister, James Maher, acknowledged the crime was serious and accepted the victim was "much younger" than Mr Coghlan claimed he believed her to be.
However, he asked the judge to take into account the man's disadvantaged background and mental illness when handing down her sentence.
He said the sentence should be fashioned in a way that provides appropriate punishment and addresses the man's need to access support services.
"It's certainly a very difficult case," Justice Kelly replied.
Mr Coghlan, who remains in custody, will learn his fate at a later date.
