Karratha sex offender given 13-year prison term

A Karratha man who sexually assaulted a young girl over months, recorded the offending and was found to be in possession of hundreds of images and videos of child exploitation material will spend more than 13 years in jail.

Andrew Clive Willmot, 54, was sentenced to a total of 131/2 years imprisonment in the Perth District Court last month after pleading guilty to four over-arching counts of sexual offending.

Willmot was primarily charged with persistently engaging in sexual conduct with a young girl over a number of months, including sexually penetrating her, telling her to touch herself and masturbating in her presence, and recorded the acts in photos and videos.

He was also sentenced in relation to 836 child exploitation images and videos found on electronic devices belonging to him, which depicted children ranging in age from four months to 16 years old.

Judge Alan Troy called Willmot’s offending against the girl “brazen, calculating and repetitive” and said he was a danger to the community, especially children.

“The idea of engaging in sexual conduct with any child is abhorrent but particularly so when the child is as young as this victim,” he said.

“I’m satisfied that you would have continued to offend against this victim for as long as you could and that the offending only came to an end when it was discovered through the seizure of your mobile phones and devices.”

Willmot was charged in early 2017 after police seized electronic devices containing the recorded material during a drug search at a Karratha property.

Defence lawyer Robert Owen said his client had been addicted to methamphetamine at the time, and was remorseful for his actions and wanted to seek rehabilitation.

The court earlier heard a victim impact statement from the girl’s mother who said the crimes had had a traumatic impact on the family.

Judge Troy sentenced Willmot to 121/2 years jail for his conduct against the girl, and one year each for taking photos, making videos of and storing child exploitation material — with the latter to be served cumulatively.

He will be eligible for parole.

Willmot was originally charged with 139 different offences but lawyers later compounded them into four over-arching counts.