Man used knife during sexual assault at a Mooroopna home

The court heard the assaults happened when the woman went to do some work at Passlow’s Mooroopna home on March 7 last year.

The assault started when Passlow pressed himself against the woman when she bent down to pick something up, before he held a box cutter knife to her neck and jaw for about seven seconds, prosecution documents tendered to the court said.

When he asked the woman for sex, she suggested they go and do it in the car as a way she could escape.

Passlow then kissed the woman and touched her inappropriately while trying to pick her up to take her to his bedroom.

Trying to de-escalate the situation, the woman told Passlow another person was coming to the house to check on them and that he would have to “act normal and hide the knife”.

Passlow put the knife in a drawer in the lounge room and the victim told him she would go to answer the front door, before escaping into the street and flagging down a passing car for help.

Passlow went back inside, called the police, and made an admission to holding the victim at knifepoint and trying to sexually assault her.

In documents tendered to the court, the prosecution said when police arrived, Passlow told them “I’ve f***** up. I’m gonna go back to jail and I’m gonna kill myself” and “I just wanted sex. I’ve been sexually frustrated, and I just wanted sex. I had the knife in her back and I told her to just be quiet.”

Prosecutor Andrew Moore told the court Passlow had been before the court in 2016 for similar offending in a case that included charges of attempted rape and stalking, where he also used a knife.

Defence barrister Sally Buckley acknowledged the serious offending would have been a “terrifying ordeal” for the victim; however, she said Passlow called police immediately afterwards.

He told police he was “glad she fled on to the street” and “I didn’t want to hurt her”, Ms Buckley said.

The defence counsel said her client had a mild intellectual disability; however, it did not directly cause the offending.

Medical reports provided in court said Passlow’s ability to make decisions was impaired, and he had problems with intimacy and impulsivity, Ms Buckley said.

The court heard Passlow had previously been deemed a moderate to high risk of sexual reoffending after he was last in court.

Ms Buckley said after Passlow’s previous community corrections order had finished, he went from “rigorous support” to far less supervision, leaving him with a “lot more time on his hands”, which contributed to the situation.

Ms Buckley also said Passlow had been through “adverse childhood experiences” and the assaults didn’t involve any serious injuries to the victim.

Judge John Kelly noted Passlow’s “use of a knife to overpower a vulnerable woman” placed her in a “position of such vulnerability”, and the assaults were “eerily similar” to his previous offending.

However, he acknowledged Passlow called police immediately after the assaults, which “stands in contrast of how he’s handled himself before”.

Passlow will appear in court again in September.

GV Centre Against Sexual Assault provides free and confidential counselling, information, advocacy and support to people who have been affected by sexual assault. Call 1800 112 343 or visit gvcasa.com.au

Lifeline provides crisis support and suicide prevention help. Call Lifeline on 131 114.