ALECOMM

A former SA policeman jailed for sex crimes against a teenage girl has had his sentence reduced on appeal, with a Supreme Court justice saying while the offender was "weak and thoughtless" he was not a paedophile.

Dale Martin Knoote-Parke pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl he met at a blue light disco while he was working in an administrative role in the Police Commissioner's Support Branch.

He was sentenced to three years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of 21 months, but he appealed against the sentence arguing it was manifestly excessive.

The Court of Criminal Appeal has overturned the original sentence and imposed a new sentence of two-and-a-half-years with a non-parole period of 12 months.

Justice John Sulan wrote in his judgement that Knoote-Parke did not target his victim or groom her.

"It is undeniable that the appellant was in a position to commit the offences through having met the victim at a discotheque run by police," he wrote.

"However, he is not a paedophile."

He said the sexual relationship followed a long friendship and the victim had almost reached the age of consent.

"The appellant was weak and thoughtless entering into a sexual relationship with the victim. The offending must result in imprisonment," he said.

Justices Malcolm Blue and Sam Doyle agreed Knoote-Parke's good character needed to be taken into account when being sentenced.

With time already served Knoote-Parke will be eligible for parole in August.

You must be logged in to comment due to spam issues.