A sex offender did not want to grab a teenage girl's buttocks, but he felt compelled to do so by voices that told him to attack children, a court has heard.
Kwabena Jesse Amoo-Appau, 31, was convicted and given a six-month good behaviour order when he fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The Moncrieff man had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of committing an act of indecency without consent.
Court documents show the offence occurred last November, when Amoo-Appau followed the girl through the Gungahlin Village shopping complex.
Once the 16-year-old had walked outside into the street, Amoo-Appau grabbed her on the buttocks using his left hand.
The girl's mother confronted Amoo-Appau a short time later, saying words to the effect of: "Excuse me, mate, did you just touch my daughter?"
Amoo-Appau indicated he had, and apologised.
The girl's mother reported the matter to police, who did not have to look hard for the 31-year-old.
In the early hours of the following morning, Amoo-Appau appeared at the Gungahlin Police Station and said he was hearing voices in his head.
He told officers the voices were telling him to "go to the brothel, to attack and steal from small children, and to follow people around".
"[Amoo-Appau] stated he had been walking around since approximately 7pm and wanted help from the police," court documents say.
On Wednesday, Amoo-Appau's Legal Aid lawyer said the 31-year-old had sought help at the police station because he had been unable to get in touch with mental health professionals late at night.
She told the court Amoo-Appau had a "well-established" diagnosis of treatment-resistant schizophrenia, without which an expert believed the offence would never have occurred.
The lawyer asked that Amoo-Appau, who was now "relatively stable" and subject to a psychiatric treatment order, be spared a criminal conviction.
She said he acknowledged and appreciated the wrongfulness of his conduct, for which he wished to apologise to the victim.
"He didn't want to do it, and he's sorry for what happened," the lawyer said.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna opposed the making of a non-conviction order.
"There is a need to protect the community from this conduct," he told the court.
Magistrate James Lawton ultimately found it appropriate to impose a conviction, noting Amoo-Appau had previously had the benefit of charges being dismissed on mental health grounds.
He said he had taken into account the man's mental health issues, the seriousness of the offence, the three days Amoo-Appau had spent in custody after his arrest, and the existence of the psychiatric treatment order.
"Whilst I accept that it was a fleeting or brief offence, it still seems to me to be a serious example given the young age of the victim," Mr Lawton said.
The magistrate also noted that a mental health report on Amoo-Appau said it did not appear his condition had stopped him realising his behaviour was wrong.
