Man jailed for molesting 9-year-old

The Summary Court has sentenced Richard Wellington Dunn to five-and-a-half years in prison for molesting a 9-year-old girl.

Dunn, 45, of West Bay, was jailed on Thursday, 17 Nov. after having been previously convicted of four counts of indecent assault on a female.

The charges stem from a series of inappropriate interactions between Dunn and the child in June 2021, during which he fondled the child on two separate occasions.

Dunn denied the charges but was convicted following a judge-alone trial before Magistrate Vanessa Allard.

When returning her sentencing decision, Allard said she found the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating circumstances.

“The offending took place at a place where the child should have felt safe, and at the time of the offence you were in a position of trust,” said Allard, who noted that since the ordeal the child has had to go through counselling.

In a victim impact report which was quoted by Allard, the child said, “I want to court to send him to jail so he can know not to do this to another child, because if someone did it to his [child] he would not have liked it.”

According to a social inquiry report, Dunn has expressed no remorse and maintains his innocence.

“How can I express remorse for something I did not do? I will not take responsibility for a crime I did not commit,” Dunn is quoted as having said.

Allard noted that Dunn’s previous good character was the only actual mitigating factor in the case.

“You have been noted as being a man of integrity, who cares about his children,” said Allard. “Others have said that you are an honest, decent hardworking person.”

Allard began the jail sentence with a starting point of six years, which she then increased to seven years due to the aggravating factors. Eventually, she decided on five-and-a-half years for each charge but ordered that they run concurrently.

Despite his lack of remorse, the social inquiry report found Dunn to be of low risk of reoffending. Nonetheless, Allard imposed a sexual harm prevention order against him which is to run for five years after his release.

The order requires him to have no contact whether directly or indirectly, or knowingly go within 100 metres of the victim. He is not allowed to be unsupervised with a person under the age of 16, without first informing the parent or guardian of this previous conviction.

He is also not allowed to change his name or to alter his name on any official documents without written permission from the police commissioner. Dunn must also inform the police commissioner of any changes of address or contact information in advance of the change.