In short:
Canberra man Jaryn Timosevski pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl who he met on Tinder in December 2022.
During his sentencing in the ACT Supreme Court today, both prosecutor Morgan Howe and Justice Michael Elkaim described the 22-year-old's behaviour as "predatory".
What's next:
Timosevski was sentenced to two years, eight months and 24 days jail. He will be eligible for parole in July next year, having already served time in jail.
A Canberra man who admitted to raping a 13-year-old girl he met on Tinder has been described as showing predatory behaviour as he was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court today.
Warning: This article contains details that may be distressing to some readers.
Jaryn Timosevski, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one act of indecency after the girl reported the abuse to police.
The court heard the pair first made contact on the dating app in December 2022, later meeting in person when the offences occurred.
Tinder is restricted to people over 18, but the court heard that at the time there was no verification process.
As part of evidence provided in court, it emerged that Timosevski was suspicious about the girl's age partly because of things she said in exchanges between the pair, including that she couldn't meet him during the daytime, and that she would have to sneak out at night to see him.
He told a friend via message:
"Meeting this girl at 7.
"She's really hot.
"I think she might be underaged so I'm gonna have to ask for some ID or something.
"We meeting at a park."
But Timosevski never asked for any proof of age.
When the pair did meet in person he took her home in his car, giving her some cannabis vape, which she said made her dizzy.
At his house the victim told Timosevski that it "felt wrong", but he told her she was '"special" and continued with the assault.
'Predatory behaviour'
Timosevski's lawyer James Maher told the court he had been reckless.
"Mr Timosevski didn't have knowledge of the fact she was 13," Mr Maher said.
Mr Maher also said that being on Tinder his client had a reasonable expectation that the girl would be over 18 and he had not set out to find a girl who was underaged.
"[This] does not amount to predatory behaviour," Mr Maher said.
But Prosecutor Morgan Howe told the court the alarm bells were ringing, from the message to Timosevski's friend to the conversation in which the girl told him it "felt wrong".
"When you look at the totality, it is predatory conduct," Mr Howe said.
The assaults continued over four days before the girl went to police.
Justice Michael Elkaim said he accepted Timosevski was not looking for an underaged girl on the dating app.
"I do not think his manner was predatory when he made contact on Tinder,"Justice Elkaim said.
But he said after that, when he had made contact with the girl, the behaviour had turned predatory.
"Having sexual intercourse with a person who is 13 — [and eight years younger] — is a most serious activity," Justice Elkaim said.
Timosevski was sentenced to two years, eight months and 24 days' jail.
He will be eligible for parole in July next year, having already served several months in jail.
The court heard Timosevski will also be placed on the sexual offenders register.