A man who raped and sexually assaulted a woman at a BNS ball campsite has learned his fate in court.

Blake Bondeson, 23, of Tatura, stood trial in the Shepparton Country Court on five charges.

He was found guilty by a jury of rape, sexual assault and sexual assault by compelling sexual touching.

He was found not guilty of another count of rape.

The jury could not reach a verdict on a third count of rape, and that charge has since been discontinued by the prosecution.

In summing up the case, Judge Daniel Holding said the rape and assaults happened on Friday, June 25, 2022 — the first night of camping at the Koonoomoo Pickers and Packers Ball in Koonoomoo.

He said Bondeson, who was then aged 20, and the victim had both been drinking alcohol that night.

The court heard that Bondeson grabbed the woman’s breast while she started to fall asleep in a tent.

She moved his hand away, but a couple of minutes later, he grabbed her breast again and started playing with it.

The woman was scared and went into a “freeze position” before Bondeson digitally raped her.

Ten minutes later, he grabbed the woman’s hand and forced her to masturbate him.

When he was interviewed by police, Bondeson maintained that he believed she consented, but the next day had told her “sorry about the swag, I wasn’t thinking straight” and “I was going through a lot”.

Judge Holding said, in her victim impact statement to the court, the victim said she had lost her sense of trust and felt “worthlessness and powerlessness”.

Judge Holding said that since the offences, Bondeson had married and had two children and character references for him described him as a “person of good character”.

He also did not have any prior or subsequent offences before the court, was young when the offences occurred and had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, Judge Holding said.

“Due to immaturity, young offenders may be prone to ill choices, and may not know the nature of the consequences of their serious actions,” Judge Holding said.

He said the victim in this case had made her “non-consent plain”.

“She just wanted to be left alone and go to sleep.”

Bondeson was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

He must serve 11 months before becoming eligible for parole.

The 22 days he spent in pre-sentence detention will count as time already served.

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Monday, 9th October 2023

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