Thomlen Holt, jailed over sex offence against teenager in Holbrook, fails on appeal

The victim of Thomlen Holt's offending woke up to find him with his hands down her pants during the incident at a Holbrook home on December 16, 2017.

She couldn't remember how she came to be on the couch and was scared as he digitally penetrated her and performed oral sex on her.

He took two photographs of her with his phone.

The victim gave evidence that she never gave any indication she was consenting and was scared.

She sent a message to her former partner a few hours after the incident saying "Tom raped me".

The teenager spoke to a police officer about 9pm that day.

"I didn't say anything the whole time," she told the officer.

"He thinks I was passed out, but he was saying things.

"He said things like 'I love you' and that if I wanted it to squeeze his arm.

"He grabbed my hand and made my hand squeeze his arm, then he got his phone off the floor beside us and took two pictures of me."

IN OTHER NEWS:

She said he started having sex with her.

A doctor at Albury hospital said the victim told her she had been drinking and passed out and woke to find Holt lying behind her, then woke to him penetrating her.

Holt contested the matter at trial and was found guilty of three of seven charges.

He told police in a recorded interview he thought the situation seemed "fairly consensual to me" and that she had touched him and willingly moved.

He said she seemed to be enjoying it and "she seemed fairly comfortable".

"That's fairly good consent, you know, she's moving, she hasn't said, stop," he told police.

"She hasn't said, no, she hasn't tried to move away..."

Holt was jailed for a minimum of three years with a maximum term of six years.

He appealed against the conviction on several grounds, which were dismissed, and remains eligible for parole in August next year.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: