A woman says she is now "a shadow of the person she used to be" after she was indecently assaulted by a man she met on the dating app, Tinder.
Steven Murray was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 27, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of committing an act of indecency without consent and one count of committing an act of indecency in the third degree.
The court heard the victim and the 36-year-old matched on Tinder in late February 2024.
While their exchanges were sometimes flirtatious, she told him she did not do "sexual things on a first date."
A few days later, the pair met at a cafe before going to his place to watch a movie and cuddle.
The court heard that while they were kissing on the couch, Murray began to indecently touch her, despite her repeatedly telling him to stop.
"Let me. Just wait, let me," he told the victim at one point.
Murray then exposed his genitals to her, which prompted her to make an excuse to leave.
However, he followed her to the front door, put his hand on her throat, and pushed her against a wall.
He then started indecently touching her body again, despite her saying "that's enough", until she managed to push him away and leave.
On Wednesday, Murray was handed an intensive correction order ending in November 2027. He was also ordered to engage with sex offence intervention programs and mental health services.
Justice Belinda Baker said the victim's impact statement described how the assault had turned the woman into a "shadow of the person she used to be".
She noted that at an earlier sentencing hearing, the victim had told Murray: "When you heard the words 'no' and 'stop' and 'that's enough', and chose to ignore them... you broke me."
The woman said Murray had stolen her sense of safety, confidence and excitement for life, and she now suffered anxiety attacks.
Justice Baker said the assault had brought extensive harm to the victim and her family.
She noted that the woman had made her boundaries clear at all times during the encounter.
"[The victim's] words and her actions conveyed unequivocally to the offender that she did not consent to [him] touching her..." she said.
She said the fact that the victim consented to kissing at first did not mean she consented to further sexual activity.
"[Murray] did not apologise or respect her clear expression that she did not consent."
Among her reasons for allowing him to serve a community-based sentence, Justice Baker said she accepted that Murray was remorseful for his actions and had good prospects of rehabilitation.
