A man who raped a sobbing teenage girl after stopping to ask her if she needed help might never be jailed due to his mental health.
Alfred Sitters, 33, was last month found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on the side of a road in Bundaberg, Queensland’s central coast in November 2015.
The 18-year-old girl was walking home barefoot from a party when Sitters approached her and asked her if she needed a place to sleep.
When the girl refused his offer, Sitters forced her to the ground and raped her on the side of the road.
The girl went to nearby pub East End (pictured) for help after Sitters fled, leaving her alone on the road-side
The girl went to a nearby pub for help after Sitters fled, leaving her alone on the road-side.
A Bundaberg District Court jury took just two hours to find Sitters guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault.
When he appeared in a Brisbane court on Friday, Judge William Everson said Sitter’s ‘intellectual impairment’ could pose a major problem after it was revealed a psychiatrist found him ‘unfit to stand trial’.
‘Now, I obviously have serious concerns. I’m not in a position to sentence Mr Sitters until this matter’s been resolved,’ Judge Everson told the Brisbane District Court.
A psychiatrist report found Sitters had a ‘mild to moderate intellectual disability’, and a ‘high level of needs’.
The 18-year-old girl was walking home barefoot from a party when Sitters approached her and asked her if she needed a place to sleep
The psychiatrist also said Sitters suffered ‘ongoing distress’ in a regular adult jail and this affected his ‘already compromised function’.
Judge Everson said Sitters’ case might need to go to the Mental Health Court, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.
The judge ordered Sitters to undergo further testing to get a better understanding on his intellectual capacity.
Judge Everson ordered new psychiatrist reports be prepared ‘as soon as possible’.
He said he needed more detail on Sitters’ mental well-being in order to take the case further.