Serial sex abuser avoids jail for fondling teen

A MAN with a history of child sexual offences has avoided jail time after fondling a friend’s 13-year-old son in the late 1980s when the offender was 48 years old.

John Knowles faced the Supreme Court of Tasmania last week, when he was sentenced over one count of indecent assault.

On the night of the offence Knowles was staying over at the house of a friend, who set up a spare bed in his 13-yearold boy’s bedroom.

The boy woke in the night to discover his genitals being fondled, prompting him to roll away and remain awake the rest of the night.

The following day the boy left the house, but not before Knowles made a “taunting gesture” to him.

The boy did not tell anyone about what happened until 2019, more than 30 years later.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Pearce said he was satisfied that the victim kept his silence due to “embarrassment and fear” of not being believed.

Justice Pearce said this fear and embarrassment persisted even throughout his adult life.

“It is a powerful demonstration of how sexual assaults of this nature, even though brief and not repeated, can have a lifelong effect on victims,” Justice Pearce said.

“In this case the impact is eloquently described by the complainant in his victim impact statement.”

The offence was Knowles’ first recorded child sexual assault, however about a decade later he went on to commit offences against two other boys of a “very similar” nature.

In 2000 he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, six months were suspended.

Justice Pearce said sentencing for this case was a “difficult matter” considering Knowles was 83 and in poor health. Given his health, Justice Pearce said it was highly unlikely that Knowles would commit similar offences.

Knowles was given a criminal conviction and put on the Community Protection Registrar for two years.

He also received an eightmonth prison sentence, wholly suspended for three years.