In short:
Last week, a teenager was given an 18-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to the rape.
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teenager → give → rape
ACT Supreme Court Justice Andrew Muller said the teenager's lack of sexual experience and "limited insight" into Australia's societal norms were factors in his sentencing decision.
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lack → say → decision
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions will consider appealing against the sentence.
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Director → consider → sentence
The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions will consider appealing against a controversial sentence handed to a teenage boy who pinned down and raped a young woman he met at a Canberra house party.
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he → consider → party
Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
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story → contain → assault
The teenager, who was 16 at the time of the rape, pleaded guilty in the ACT Children's Court to sexual intercourse without consent.
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who → plead → consent
The now-18-year-old avoided jail time and instead received an 18-month suspended sentence upon entering a good behaviour order.
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old → avoid → order
In sentencing last week, ACT Supreme Court Justice Andrew Muller accepted the teenager's "prior lack of sexual experience and inevitably limited insight into societal norms in Australia … are factors mitigating his moral culpability".
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lack → accept → culpability
The teenager had moved to Canberra from Bhutan in February 2025, six months before the assault occurred.
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assault → move → February
He cannot be named because be he was a minor at the time of the offence.
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he → name → offence
He has spent one night in custody since the offending in August 2025.
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He → spend → August
Petition to remove judge from position
The sentence has sparked fierce public backlash from parts of the Canberra community.
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sentence → remove → community
A petition calling for the removal of Justice Muller had on Wednesday received 4,000 signatures.
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petition → call → signatures
Petition organiser Joanne Matthews said she wanted the justice system to reconsider the sentence.
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system → say → sentence
"They are supposed to reflect what society wants, and this is not what society wants,"Ms Matthews said.
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Matthews → suppose → what
Ms Matthews, a Canberra resident, said she was disappointed the court considered the teen's short time in Australia to be a mitigating factor.
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time → say → Australia
"Does this give permission for anyone coming in to say, 'well, I'm ignorant of the law, I can commit these horrendous crimes and that's okay'?" she said.
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she → give → crimes
A separate petition sponsored by Canberra Liberals MLA Peter Cain launched on Tuesday calling for a public inquiry into the ACT's sentencing framework for sexual violence.
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petition → sponsor → violence
The community needs assurance that sentencing outcomes are justified, assessments of reoffending risk are rigorous, and mitigating factors do not diminish victims' entitlement to justice or community safety," the petition, which has received 170 signatures, said.
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which → need → signatures
The office of ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne declined to comment on the case, saying any decision about an appeal was a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
An ACT government spokesperson said the territory's legislative framework was designed to safeguard the independence of the DPP.
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framework → decline → DPP
"Under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990, the attorney-general may issue directions or guidelines to the director only on matters of a general nature and cannot direct how the DPP should act in a specific case,"the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → issue → case,"the
'Unclear' what offender is sorry for: judge
During sentencing, the court heard the teen and his 18-year-old victim had met at a party in Holt where they kissed before he asked her to go for a walk a few houses away.
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he → hear → walk
He then pinned her down, ripped her clothes, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
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He → pin → her
The victim, who also cannot be named, said she "just froze" and told the offender, "please stop, I don't want this".
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I → name → this
She estimated the offending lasted for 20 minutes.
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offending → estimate → minutes
The victim told the court she wanted to run away but was scared the offender would hurt her.
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offender → tell → her
Justice Muller said he acknowledged "troubling concerns" about the teen's insights.
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he → say → insights
"I have no doubt he feels sorry," he said.
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he → have → doubt
"But whether he feels sorry because of the impact these charges have had in his own life, or whether he feels sorry because he realises what he did was wrong and recognises the abhorrence with which the community regards his wrongful behaviour is a little unclear,"he said.
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community → feel → behaviour
The offender, who is currently completing Year 12, had previously been issued a restraining order for punching another student at school and had admitted to photographing another student using the toilet.
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who → complete → toilet
Speaking broadly about sentencing in sexual assault cases, ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner Juliette Ford said the lifelong impact a crime had on victims was not always understood.
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crime → speak → victims
The commissioner said victims generally "have faith in the criminal justice process [as] they don't want what happened to them to happen to someone else."
"It is very important then that the outcomes do properly reflect the impact of the harm caused to them," he said.
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he → say → them
The Aporia