Man admits sex assault

A MAN has admitted touching the genitals of a woman he met on a night out without permission while she slept in a bed next to another man.

Dale Corey Blake was invited back to the man’s home after befriending the pair while partying in Surfers Paradise on April 2, 2017 and was under the “wrong impression”, a court was told.

Blake, 28, pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court yesterday to two counts of sexual assault.

Crown prosecutor Matt Hynes said Blake was allocated a place to sleep in the garage and walked uninvited into the pair’s bedroom twice to touch the woman. He touched the woman both on the outside and inside of her underwear.

Defence barrister Peter Nolan said Blake, a first-time offender, thought he may have been given drugs.

“It was alcohol-induced conduct,” Nr Nolan said. “He got the wrong impression from the (woman).” The court was told Blake apologised to the woman afterwards.

The victim has struggled with her relationships since and struggled focusing on her studies, the court was told.

Judge Katherine McGinness said the offending was “serious”. Blake was sentenced to nine months in jail, wholly suspended for 18 months.