Former air force cadet, 23, who tried to rape his drunk friend while she was asleep in his bed after taking creepy photos of her naked body avoids jail
- Aiden Hernandez-Edgar pleaded guilty to attempting to rape his friend
- He photographed her genitals and tried to have sex with her while she slept
- Justice said what he did was wrong but he apologised when no consent given
A former air force cadet who tried to rape his drunk friend while she was asleep in his bed won’t spend a single day behind bars.
Aiden Hernandez-Edgar, 23, pleaded guilty in Darwin’s Supreme Court to attempting to rape the woman who he had been friends with for ‘a number of years’.
The court heard the pair had enjoyed a night of drinking at a Darwin club before returning to Hernandez-Edgar’s unit in the early hours of the morning.
Aiden Hernandez-Edgar, 23, pleaded guilty in Darwin’s Supreme Court to attempting to rape the woman who he had been friends with for ‘a number of years’
The pair fell asleep in his bed, but Hernandez-Edgar woke up and took off her underwear before taking photos of her genitalia and trying to have sex with her.
The woman woke up and screamed ‘What are you doing? This is rape’, according to NT News.
The court heard Hernandez-Edgar asked the woman ‘is this rape?’ before apologising as she left his unit to report the disturbing incident to police.
Justice Graham Hiley said the crime was ‘very much at the lower level of seriousness’ and handed the 23-year-old a suspended six-month jail sentence.
Justice Hiley took into account the former air force cadet’s spotless criminal record, noting the conviction would seriously damage his chances of becoming a pilot.
‘Your barrister told me that you mistakenly believed, or at least hoped, that when you were engaging in this activity that particular morning, you were hoping that that might lead to consensual sex between the two of you,’ he said.
‘But as we know, it certainly did not result in that. Rather, it resulted in her waking up, protesting very quickly and you consequently finding yourself in court charged with this offence.’
Justice Graham Hiley said the crime was ‘very much at the lower level of seriousness’ and handed the 23-year-old a suspended six-month jail sentence. Pictured: NT Supreme Court