Frank Matthias Kurt Berger: Farm worker facing deportation after earning jail time for second sexual assault

A former farm hand is facing deportation after he was given an extra year of jail time for admitting to a sexual assault on a fellow farm worker in the Goldfields-Esperance region. Frank Matthias Kurt Berger was jailed in Albany District Court on November 17 for unlawfully and indecently assaulting a woman in Munglinup on October 31, 2020. The 42-year-old assaulted the woman during a conversation with another woman in a donga on the farming property. The woman tried unsuccessfully to stop Berger, but was afraid to say anything about the assault to the other woman. The pair worked together on a mixed-cropping farm, occupying dongas on the property and sharing common areas. The woman only made the decision to report the assault to police after hearing about Berger’s 2023 conviction. Berger has been serving jail time for raping a teenager in late 2021, since early 2023 when he admitted guilt to two counts of rape and another of indecent assault. The victim had been reluctant to report the assault as she was desperate for a job at the time and was eager to impress her employers. District Court Judge John Staude said the incident was preceded and followed by acts that made her uncomfortable, such as hugging and talking about sexual matters. Judge Staude said the assault was aggravated by the power and age imbalance of Berger over the victim “It was your job to teach and guide her in her duties as a farm labourer . . . so there was a power imbalance, and there was an age difference that was significant,” he said. “ . . . It is aggravated by the force with which you indecently assaulted her, being sufficient for her to think that she could not do anything to stop it.” Prior to the convictions Berger had no criminal record in Australia or Germany. Judge Staude said he found no personal circumstances would mitigate a sentence, apart from his good character prior to his convictions. “I do find that you acted in the deluded belief that Ms Wilson was attracted to you, but that in no way mitigates your offending; it simply explains the circumstances in which it arose,” he said. Berger received 12 months for the sexual assault, making his total jail time five years — Berger is eligible to make a application for parole. Judge Staude noted Berger is likely to be deported to Germany once his sentences have been served.