Cricket Australia: Timothy Joseph Whittaker guilty of sexual touching without consent

Prosecutors have called for a former Cricket Australia director to be jailed for his ‘predatory’ groping of two colleagues.

Timothy Joseph Whittaker, 38, returned to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday after pleading guilty to two counts of intentional sexual assault without consent last Friday.

Prosecutor Sharn-Adelle Coombs told the court that Whittaker should receive a prison sentence for the offense and called on Magistrate Timothy Gattuso to register him as a sex offender.

“These were two incidents of opportunistic and somewhat predatory behavior,” she said.

“Two grown men who were utterly vulnerable… They had a right to feel safe in the home of a trusted friend or colleague.

“A clear message needs to be sent to the community that these types of violations will not be tolerated.”

Whittaker was charged after two men came forward who told police similar experiences of waking up in his bed after a night of heavy drinking and the former communications chief touching their penises in 2016 and 2019.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, a man said the assault had led to years of mental health problems.

“I tried to convince myself it wasn’t [happen]. It was easier to do this than to face what happened,” he said.

“But reality kept gnawing at me.”

Whittaker’s attorney, Dermot Dann KC, argued that Mr Gattuso should order a community correction as opposed to jail time.

“I cannot help you with the circumstances of this offense because Mr. Whittaker maintains his innocence,” he said.

“We understand your Honor’s finding about the touching and we’re not arguing with that at this point.”

Whittaker, 38, returned to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being found guilty of two counts of intentional non-consensual sexual assault last Friday

He told the court that the incidents were limited to a period in Whittaker’s life when he was suffering from mental health problems and personal loss.

“He has worked very hard on his rehabilitation, despite setbacks such as losing his job,” Mr Dann said.

He said Mr Whittaker had developed an alcohol problem while working at Cricket Australia due to the stressful nature of the job and a ‘fairly distressing work environment involving alcohol consumption’.

Earlier, the court heard the first man to complain to Cricket Australia’s human resources department in March 2019 following an end-of-season staff party.

He was among a group of employees who went back to Mr. Whittaker’s apartment in Abbotsford for a nightcap, where he fell asleep on Whittaker’s sofa.

At about 5:30 a.m., he awoke in Mr. Whittaker’s bed with his pants off and felt his penis being ‘pulled’.

Whittaker’s attorney asked magistrate Timothy Gattuso to issue a community correctional order in opposition to jail time, adding that his client “maintains his innocence”

The second victim came forward in 2021 and said he woke up in Whittaker’s bed in January 2016 after a night of heavy drinking.

Whittaker had his hands in the man’s pants and “rubbed” his penis.

In his testimony, he told the court that he initially gave Whittaker the “benefit of the doubt” and thought he was asleep, but reconsidered after hearing rumors of similar events.

A spokesman for Cricket Australia said the organization was “appalled” by the breach.

“We will continue to support the victims as we have since these crimes came to our attention,” the spokesman said.

“We commend their courage in coming forward to report these crimes and hope today’s verdict gives them a sense of justification and closure.”

Gattuso will sentence Whittaker on Friday.