AN Ashmont man convicted of raping a child has been sentenced to up to nine years' jail.
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Michael James Kennedy, 23, appeared in Wagga District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years old.
Court documents state the offences happened in January last year when Kennedy, whose work history includes employment at a fast-food restaurant and abattoir, took the child into a bedroom, closed the door and committed the offence.
The sexual assault left the victim visibly upset and was only stopped when Kennedy's partner interrupted.
In his sentencing remarks on Thursday, Judge Gordon Lerve said "there could be no doubt that all of this is correct" regarding a number of the Crown prosecution's arguments, including the victim being horrified.
Judge Lerve said he also agreed that there was a degree of cunning involved in luring the child away into the bedroom.
The court also heard about Kennedy's mild intellectual disability since childhood.
Psychiatrist Dr Luke Johnson said Kennedy suffers from schizophrenia with "co-morbid intellectual disability".
Fellow psychiatrist Dr Olav Nielssen diagnosed Kennedy as having a mild intellectual disability, psychotic illness and substance-use disorder.
Judge Lerve said that while none of the report authors defined or explained the term 'mild intellectual disability', their reports show that Kennedy has intellectual deficits, including in reasoning and problem solving.
He said the historical evidence about Kennedy's intellectual impairment and psychiatric condition meant "the moral culpability of the offender is substantially reduced".
He also said there is a need for a generous finding of special circumstances, but that he is not prepared to find good prospects of rehabilitation, or that Kennedy is unlikely to reoffend.
Crown solicitor Virginia Morgan had argued that Kennedy's intellectual disability was not so profound that he was not able to make appropriate decisions.
Defence barrister Christine Mendes had said the sentencing needs to be considered through the lens of someone with such an intellectual impairment.
A victim impact statement was not tendered to the district court. Kennedy will serve five years and nine months' before he is eligible for parole in October 2023.
He was also convicted and sentenced to 18 months' jail after pleading guilty to entering a dwelling intending to commit an aggravated indecent assault in relation to the same incident.
Kennedy's family declined to comment outside court after sentencing.
