The Cairns Post

Sex crim exposed ex-girlfriend during assault

- JANESSA EKERT janessa.ekert@news.com.au

A REGISTERED sex offender has been jailed for humiliatin­g his ex-girlfriend by exposing her genitalia during a violent assault in Cairns.

The young woman had gone to Samuel Gaulai Misi’s Murray St home on June 11 last year after accusing him of stealing her bank card.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Matt Rose labelled the ensuing assault as a “callous and persistent and degrading attack on a young woman.”

The Cairns Magistrate­s Court was told the pair had been in a relationsh­ip for about six months before she ended it.

After dragging the woman from a car by her collar, Misi then punched her multiple times. Sgt Rose said during the onslaught Misi pulled the woman’s jeans and underwear down exposing her genitalia, and kicked her in the face.

“His conduct can be dePEOPLE scribed as nothing less than deplorable,” Sgt Rose said, arguing that it would not be inappropri­ate for Misi to spend at least 50 per cent of a jail term behind bars.

The 27-year-old has a seven-page criminal history and has already spent 157 days in custody. He pleaded guilty to nine charges including assault occasionin­g body harm, burglary and failing to comply with reporting under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act.

Defence lawyer Natalie Keys said if her client was made to serve 50 per cent of the term it would “almost deem no point for him to plead guilty”.

Ms Keys told the court that her client had grown up in an environmen­t where he thought drugs and committing crime was the norm.

“It just appears that he tends to fall in with the wrong crowd,” Ms Keys said.

She conceded her client’s actions “did lead to a very nasty, humiliatin­g response”, adding that he had issues with managing conflict.

Misi was jailed for two years and one month, to be released on parole on April 15 after about eight months in jail.

HIS CONDUCT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS NOTHING LESS THAN DEPLORABLE

 ?? Picture: DANIEL BATEMAN ?? ISLAND: The former luxury destinatio­n.
Picture: DANIEL BATEMAN ISLAND: The former luxury destinatio­n.

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