(Southport) A 17 year old Afghan who groped eight women as they swam at
one of Australia’s busiest beaches has escaped going to jail.
The lad, who can't be identified because he committed the
offences as a juvenile, spent two hours grabbing women, aged between 15 and 24
years, as he swam between the flags at Surfers Paradise Beach on January 16
last year. The attacks only stopped when three of the victims approached the
lifeguard on duty and who then notified police. When questioned by the lifeguard , he said:
"If I just say sorry, can we forget all about it?"
In court, Judge David Kent heard how the defendant grabbed
his victims on their bottoms, breasts and, in three cases, their vaginas. He accepted that the teenager grew up in difficult circumstances in Afghanistan and that his father
died in 2011. He went on to say his behaviour, while holidaying on the Gold
Coast with his family, was unacceptable and that due to his different upbringing and
culture, he placed the sex pest on two years' probation with no
conviction recorded.
