A pizza delivery boy who impregnated a 15-year-old child has appealed his prison sentence because it was too harsh for the victim’s age, a court has heard.
Nathaniel Roberts, 27, of Morwell, Victoria, was sentenced last year to five and a half years’ imprisonment with a three-year unconditional period in County Court after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 .
Roberts was 24 at the time of the crime, which took place in August 2020, and the victim, who cannot be identified, was 15.
Attorney Joe Connolly, for Roberts, told the Court of Appeals on Tuesday that “as far as a child can consent, she did,” saying the victim had shown “more than acquiescence” in the couple’s sexual relationship.
Nathaniel Roberts, pictured, was jailed for a minimum of three years after having sex with a 15-year-old and impregnating him.
He told judges Karin Emerton and Terence Forrest that there was no grooming, no strength, or any “presumptuous” willpower involved in the couple’s sexual relationship, which he said was “relatively short.”
Robyn Harper, on behalf of the Crown, said the maximum sentence Roberts faced was 15 years and the sentence imposed was 33 per cent of the maximum.
Ms Harper said the aggravating factor in the insult was the victim’s ejaculation, which caused her pregnancy.
She said the crime was “particularly serious” and told the court that the sentence imposed was “clearly not out of reach.”
“The impact was significant,” said Ms Harper.
Roberts was 24 at the time of the crime, which took place in August 2020, and the victim, who cannot be identified, was 15 (stock image)
According to a written summary of the prosecution released by the County Court, Edwards and the victim met at a house in Traralgon in August 2020, and a sexual relationship between the couple began soon after.
According to the synopsis, the victim, who returned to his home several times to stay with him after their initial meeting, had told Roberts she was only 15, and said the couple had discussed the age difference a number of times.
“What happens when people find out about all this shit, for example,” Roberts says in the synopsis, also expressing concern that people are “going to the police” because she wasn’t 16 yet.
In late September of that year, the victim told her mother that she feared she might be pregnant, which was confirmed in early October, and also told her mother that the father was about 25 years old.
After initially telling the victim he wanted her to have an abortion but claiming he would support her, Roberts eventually ended the relationship with the victim.
Pizza delivery boy Nathaniel Roberts, who impregnated a 15-year-old child, has appealed against his prison sentence because it was too harsh for the victim’s age. The County Court of Victoria is pictured
In his sentencing of Roberts last year, County Court Judge Michael McInerney said the intercourse was “consensual in the sense that the victim was a willing participant.”
But Judge McInerney said the legislation was designed to protect young children, and under the law there could be no consent.
He cited the restriction on having a child at an early age, which the victim described in her victim impact statement, as “the very restrictions that form the basis” for the legislation to be passed by parliament.
Justices Emerton and Forrest reserved their decision.