Man “madly in love” loses appeal in pedophile conviction

A convicted pedophile lost his appeal case after telling the Supreme Court he was “madly in love” with a 10-year-old girl and he was simply acting out in a childish manner.

The 36-year-old male, who was sentenced to six years after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 10-year-old between 2015 and 2016, tried to get the conviction overturned with his defence arguing that he acted in a “sweet manner as if he was a kid too.”

He was previously found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor, where he was accused of kissing the young girl in the mouth, touching her buttocks, chest, and rubbing his hand on her genitalia.

The court dismissed the counter-argument that the man was touching the girl over the clothes, with judges saying this point had no bearing on the conviction.

“Touching or rubbing genitalia, buttocks, and chest meets the legal definition of the alleged offences, whether this took place over the clothes or underneath,” the judges said.

A clinical psychologist, who was also called to testify, suggested the convicted man was “pathologically infatuated” with the girl, causing him to act like a child but without sexual urges.

“He was not a pedophile but madly in love, and he was acting out in a childish manner without having a full appreciation of his erotic approach towards the child,” the defence attorneys later added.

The court dismissed the argument, saying the appellant was fully aware of his actions. The judges said he took advantage of friendly relations he had with the family, a single mother with three children, forging a special kind of bond with the minor in question and building an exploitative relationship based on her weaknesses and his sexual urges.

“He was in full control, making her the target of his sexual urges having full awareness of his actions,” the court found.

The judges also said while the man had a constitutional right not to incriminate himself or admit guilt, the court noted that he had shown no remorse which could have been evident had he admitted to the sexual abuse offences.

“Not admitting to it was not only a legal matter but it also caused the underage victim to take the witness stand, something which cannot be viewed as showing remorse,” the court said.

The man is expected to remain behind bars for the full six years, following the dismissal of his appeal for a more lenient sentence or complete overturn.