A northern Tasmanian farm hand has been jailed for two years for the persistent sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl.
Braydon Mark Shepherd pleaded guilty to persistent sexual abuse of a young person and was sentenced in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Justice Robert Pearce said Shepherd, then 26, had sex with the girl three times between November 2021 and February 2022.
Each time, he met her at the end of her driveway around midnight while her parents were in bed.
“You were aware of her age. She was a child and you were more than 11 years older,” Pearce said.
“She was in a vulnerable position by reason of her immaturity and circumstances.”
“It was your responsibility to control yourself and refrain from participation in sexual acts with her. Instead, you indulged your own sexual gratification.”
The pair lived in the same town in the state’s north, where the girl attended the local high school.
The court heard she contacted Shepherd in October 2021 after a school friend gave her his details and the two began exchanging sexual messages on Snapchat.
She also sent him naked images at his request. Pearce said the girl’s agreement to the conduct was not a mitigating factor.
The offending came to light after one of the girl’s friends told her own mother, who then contacted the girl’s parents. Her parents took her phone and went to police.
Pearce said the girl initially defended Shepherd and did not give police a formal statement until December 2023.
Shepherd was charged in October 2024 and changed his plea about a week before his trial was due to begin.
He asked for a fully suspended sentence or home detention, but Pearce said “actual imprisonment is required”.
Six months of the two-year sentence was suspended for two years from his release. Shepherd will also be placed on the sex offender register for four years.
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