ACT Supreme Court jails Kaine Gleeson for series of child sex offences

"I ruined my relationships with my family because of him and I hate him," the Canberra teenager wrote in a victim impact statement tendered to the ACT Supreme Court.

The girl prepared the statement for the sentencing of offender Kaine Michael Gleeson, who was jailed on Wednesday for more than six years.

Justice Michael Elkaim set a non-parole period of three years, six months and one week.

Gleeson, 41, had previously pleaded guilty to seven charges, which included three counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a child.

The other offences were of using a child to produce exploitation material, using a carriage service to transmit indecent material to a child, committing an act of indecency in the presence of a child, and contravening a court order.

An agreed statement of facts shows the victim, then aged 14, was under the care of Child and Youth Protection Services when Gleeson sexually exploited her in December 2020 and January 2021.

Gleeson's crimes were uncovered in May 2021, when police seized the victim's phone and examined it in connection with an unrelated matter.

Officers discovered pictures and videos, which were later classified as child exploitation material, showing the girl and Gleeson "engaging in sexual acts".

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A review of the teenager's contacts revealed Gleeson's number was saved under the name "Love of My Life".

Gleeson had sent the girl a raft of sexually explicit messages, which formed the basis of the transmission of indecent material charge.

Their messages showed they had discussed "running away" together when the girl turned 16.

"Yeah but not if I'm in jail before then," Gleeson wrote in one message.

Investigators, who initially had trouble tracking Gleeson down, appealed to the public for information on his whereabouts in February, saying he had been "actively avoiding police" as extensive efforts were made to locate him.

Following a number of tips from members of the public, he was arrested later the same day and remanded in custody the next morning.

As of Wednesday, prosecutor Sam Bargwanna told the court, Gleeson had spent 266 days behind bars in the wake of his apprehension.

Mr Bargwanna said previous cases proved the sexual abuse of children had "profound and deleterious" effects, which were sometimes life-long, on victims.

He drew attention to the victim's statement, which was not read aloud, noting it described the girl turning to drugs and alcohol in order to cope with the impact of Gleeson's crimes.

The prosecutor also told the court deterrence of others should be a "paramount" consideration in sentencing for offences of this type.

Gleeson's lawyer, Jonathan Cooper, said his client had grown up with an abusive father and had been "exposed to drugs before he could choose".

The offender's crimes had been committed in the context of "serious drug use", Mr Cooper said as he asked Justice Elkaim to impose a shorter than usual non-parole period to promote Gleeson's rehabilitation from substance abuse.

The lawyer noted that while Gleeson had a prior criminal history, these would be the first entries of a sexual nature on his record.

In sentencing, Justice Elkaim said there were some prospects of rehabilitation.

But he focused his remarks on the harm suffered by the victim, who was "perhaps mature beyond her years" yet still "a vulnerable child susceptible to the predatory behaviour of the offender".

"The damage to the child has been and will be extensive," the judge said, referring to the victim having described various mental health challenges.

He noted the girl had written about feeling "like I don't really own my own body anymore".

Gleeson, who frowned, crossed his arms and nodded when Justice Elkaim explained his sentence to him, will become eligible for parole in August 2025.

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