Mother of victim, 9, fears sex offender will commit more acts
A SERIAL sex offender with bizarre beliefs will spend at least eight months behind bars after exposing his genitalia to a nine-year-old boy.
However, the victim’s mother doubts the sentence will stop the man’s offending.
“No matter what help (he) gets it will not work and he will continue to reoffend,” the mother said.
Murroon man Roger Brien, 64, pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court to a number of charges, including committing an indecent act in the presence of a child.
The court heard Brien had exposed himself to the boy while they were at a property near Colac last year.
Magistrate Ron Saines said while there was no evidence of arousal or physical interference, the behaviour was unwanted and unjustifiable.
“The affect of your offend- ing on this boy, who ... was nine, is marked, is significant,” Mr Saines said.
“Also upon his mother, who has strongly expressed her sense of betrayal.”
The court was told the indecent exposure happened while Brien and his victim were discussing scars, the man showing the boy a scar near his penis and revealing himself.
Defence counsel told the court the accused was living in “extreme isolation”, had no contact with children and was not taking medication despite psychologist reports suggesting it might be beneficial.
The court was told he believed he was spiritually connected to Native American Indians.
“He has shamanistic beliefs . . . deeply held beliefs. It forms an enormous part of his life,” his lawyer said.
Mr Saines noted Brien’s history of sex offences dating to 2011, when he was put on a community-based order for stalking a 15-year-old boy on Facebook, in a “manner that involves sexual undertones”.
In 2013 he pleaded guilty to two counts of knowingly possessing child pornography, after police found 539 images on his computer, camera and in yellow envelopes.
Back then the court heard the man claimed his “spiritual guides” told him to get the photographs off the internet and give them to police to help the victims.
Mr Saines said while psychiatrists had deemed Brien’s demeanour to be strange, they had not diagnosed any condition that would suggest mental impairment and entitle him to leniency.
Mr Saines reinstated a wholly suspended prison sentence for the previous child pornography charges, and imposed another 14-month jail term with a non-parole period of six months.
Brien was put on the sex offenders registry for life and must provide DNA samples for police investigations.