Man guilty of touching boy

A Jurien Bay man has been found guilty of inappropriately touching a boy on numerous occasions when he would visit him with his father. The 48-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted of engaging in persistent sexual misconduct with the boy by touching him on the buttocks and genitals on numerous occasions between 2012 and 2016. After an hour of deliberation, the jury found the man had indecently touched the boy on numerous occasions whenever the boy visited his uncle’s home, where the man was living at the time. The court was told the boy regularly visited the home because his father and the man’s younger brother had a close friendship. Although the boy could not remember any specific dates or any particular happening during the incidents when giving evidence, the jury found the boy would have been too young to remember as he would have been between the ages of three and five years. During the visits, the boy would play video games and with the man’s collection of remote controlled cars in his bedroom while his father and the man’s brother were across the hall playing video games. Despite both bedroom doors always being open and the presence of other people in the home — including the boy’s father, the man’s brother and on occasion the boy’s older siblings — the jury found the 48-year-old had plenty of opportunity to touch the boy. In evidence, both the boy’s parents said they trusted the man to look after their son during their visits due to their close friendship. The boy’s parents also told the court they noticed a change in the boy’s behaviour, noting he became irritable and was not as willing to go with his father to the man’s house as when he was younger. Although it was found the boy’s father had suggested to the boy it was the man that touched him, prosecutor Michael Perrella told the jury the boy did not say anything sooner because he was told by the man it was “our little secret”. The boy also told the court in pre-recorded evidence he did not want to ruin his father’s friendship with the man having known about their friendship all his life. Mr Perrella also suggested to the jury the boy could have been groomed by the man by using the toy cars and normalising the sexual behaviour by just talking to him as he touched his buttocks and genitals. The man is due to be sentenced in the Perth District Court on October 26.