Man who took advantage of drunk woman learns his fate

Callum Clissold, 32, was sentenced in Geelong District Court on Friday after pleading guilty to a charge of sexual assault earlier this year.

Clissold met the woman in 2021 through a Facebook page for singles and in June the pair were at his house in Torquay, where they drank alcohol and ordered a pizza.

The woman recalled sitting on the floor fully clothed between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m., but the next thing she remembered was waking up in Clissold’s bed, partially undressed and with a sore vagina.

During his interrogation, he admitted to touching the woman, but assumed that this was consensual, the court said.

In sentencing, Judge Gregory Lyon found that Clissold’s cognitive abilities had been “impaired” that evening due to his own alcohol consumption and his autistic disorder (ASD).

Clissold had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in two psychological reports; Judge Lyon referred to this in his remarks.

The court concluded that Clissold lacked the necessary critical thinking skills and may have misinterpreted social cues, leading to an “error of judgment.”

The court heard that Clissold also had limited social skills and self-control due to a lack of psychiatric treatment in his upbringing and emotional neglect by his parents.

One of the reports concluded that Clissold would be at risk in prison and was at risk of

Due to his inability to adapt, he developed a “serious mental illness,” the court said.

Judge Lyon found that a suspended sentence was “both open and appropriate” and imposed on Clissold a 20-month suspended sentence with 150 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Lyon said the sentence had been the subject of “careful consideration” over several months and the court heard Clissold’s actions had left the victim with “deep trauma”.

“It is obvious that it will take a long time for (the victim) to heal his wounds,” Judge Lyon said.

Judge Lyon found that Clissold was “a dubious, if not unreliable, historian” who had given his lawyer and the examining psychologists contradictory accounts of his life.

The court heard that during his police interview, Clissold gave “long, rambling” and “difficult to understand” answers and showed a lack of insight into his crime, at times denying and at times admitting guilt.

However, Judge Lyon found that Clissold’s prospects for rehabilitation were “reasonable” because he had been identified as being at low risk of reoffending.

After passing sentence, Judge Lyon addressed Clissold’s victim, explaining that he had had to take a number of factors into account and wishing her a “happy and fulfilling life”.

“The criminal justice system is a difficult process for victims of sexual assault,” he said, noting that it does not always produce results that victims “consider appropriate.”

“I do not ask for forgiveness for the sentence I imposed… I hope you can look forward in the future,” he said.