NEWS ‘Friend’ lured girl, 14, for sex
A SEXUAL predator who plied a Tennant Creek family with gifts and free meals while grooming their 14-year-old daughter for sex has been jailed for three years.
Muhammad Muhyidin, 39, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to unlawful sexual intercourse with a child under 16 after abusing the girl in February last year.
The court heard Muhyidin worked in the kitchen at Sporties Bar and Grill when he met the girl there.
In December, Muhyidin gave the girl a lift home where he drank beer with her father and gave her and her brothers $100 for Christmas.
When the girl and her family holidayed in Bali, Muhyidin arranged for a driver for them at no cost and when they returned he continued to give her lifts and provide the family with free meals at Sporties, even arranging for food to be sent to their home.
But by mid-February, Muhyidin was also regularly exchanging “messages of a romantic nature” with the girl.
When her parents went away for a weekend in late
February, Muhyidin drove her to his house one night after work where they had sex.
In suspending Muhyidin’s sentence after two years, Justice Jenny Blokland said characterising his behaviour prior to the offending was “not straightforward”.
“The Crown argued the offender groomed the family, ingratiating himself with them and gaining their trust and consequen(tly), accessing opportunities to be alone or unsupervised with the victim” she said.
“Grooming of a kind did take place before the offending, however, in my view, it cannot be clearly found to be so until some time after the family trip to Bali.”
Justice Blokland said affidavits from other residents detailed Muhyidin’s generosity towards them which had been “completely unrelated to this matter”.
“There was some genuine motivation to show hospitality and friendship, but in the later stage, a motivation to continue contact with the victim and to give the appearance of nothing more than friendship,” she said.
“The victim’s family certainly feel there was betrayal on the part of Mr Muhyidin.”