Former Hurricanes cricketer jailed for abusing 15yo girl

Former Hobart Hurricanes cricketer Aaron Summers jailed for sexually abusing 15yo girl In short: Former Hobart Hurricanes cricketer Aaron William Summers has been given a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for sexually abusing and grooming a 15-year-old girl. He formally changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in June. What's next? The sentence will be suspended after 10 months, meaning he will leave prison next April. A former Hobart Hurricanes cricket player will serve 10 months in prison for sexually abusing a child. WARNING: This story contains details of child sexual abuse. Aaron William Summers, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of penetrative sexual abuse of a young person and one count of grooming in June in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, after having previously pleaded not guilty. In court on Wednesday, he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, suspended after 10 months, meaning he will leave prison in April next year. Justice Helen Wood told the court that Summers met the victim at a Hobart Hurricanes cricket match in 2017. The following month, the 15-year-old girl attended another game and spoke to Summers, who was 21 at the time. The pair began messaging on social media, and Summers arranged to pick her up from her home later that night. The court heard he drove her to a local primary school, laid down a blanket, and sexually abused her twice. Justice Wood told the court that Summers knew she was under the age of 17 and at high school, but did not ask how old she was. "She thought they were meeting to talk; in reality, she represented a sexual opportunity to him,"Justice Wood said. "She was vulnerable because of her age and innocence; he had said nothing to warn her of his real motives." The grooming charge related to social media conversations between Summers and the girl, in which Summers sent explicit photos of himself and requested photos from her. "As a community, we look up to sportspeople; young people are likely to admire them, see them in a positive light," Justice Woods said. "His role as a sportsperson gave him contact with young people, and enabled the commission of his crimes; this is an aggravating factor." In November 2021, Summers pleaded guilty to charges in the Northern Territory, including possessing and transmitting child abuse material and transmitting communication with someone under 16 with the intention of procuring the recipient to engage in, or make, sexual activity. Summers served three years and 11 months in prison in the NT. He was arrested on the day of his release and extradited to Tasmania to face these charges. Cricket career 'at an end' Justice Wood said Summers had experienced social isolation, loneliness and depressive symptoms while playing cricket in Tasmania and was spending excessive time on social media. She said once he moved to the Northern Territory, he had established a successful career playing cricket in Australia and overseas and had a high profile. "Due to the crimes, his future as a professional cricketer is at an end,"she said. Justice Wood said that Summers has accepted responsibility for his crimes and understood the impact his offending has had on his victims. In the NT, he completed an intensive sex offender treatment program, which involved over 100 sessions, in which Justice Wood told the court he engaged appropriately and gained insight into his offending. Justice Wood said when deciding on his sentence, she considered the lengthy jail time he had already served in the NT after the Tasmanian crimes were committed, and the significant progress he has taken towards his rehabilitation. "[The] understanding he has about the harm he has caused and he is motivated to regain his life," she said. Justice Wood imposed a sentence of two-and-a-half years, backdated to June 28 of this year, due to the time he has spent in remand. She suspended the last 20 months of the sentence, with strict conditions, such as obliging him to comply with his probation officers and submit to psychological treatment. The court heard that Summers would likely return to Western Australia, where he is from and his family live, to serve out his suspended sentence once he is able to leave prison in April next year.