Shepparton sex offender visited child-frequented venues

Prosecutor Senior Constable Anna Hanlon said Trewin was a registered sex offender who regularly visited venues attended frequently by children.

Trewin regularly visited the Gamer’s Resort on Maude St, Shepparton to play Magic the Gathering at a board games club and Oz Tenpin Bowling on Fryers St, Shepparton for a Thursday night bowling competition, the court heard.

Both businesses have children frequently visit them; however, Trewin didn’t report that he was attending them, Sen Constable Hanlon said.

Trewin told police “(I) don’t go there for that, (I) go there to play games” when he was arrested on October 19, 2023, the court heard.

He was initially placed on the registry after committing offences in Queensland.

Trewin’s defence counsel said he had gone to the venues for social activities, and he didn’t intentionally try to conceal the breach of the reporting obligations or stand to gain anything by not disclosing it.

Trewin had an isolated childhood and adolescence, after he witnessed a car accident where his mother died, and had since been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, anxiety, alcohol problems, chronic back pain and a bulging disk, the court heard.

Trewin’s defence counsel told the court a psychological assessment in December 2022 found Trewin showed a level of stability, no evidence of substance abuse, a moderate risk of sexual reoffending and a low risk of violent offending.

In addition, the court heard the supervision order that had been in place for 14 years had expired in March this year.

Magistrate Olivia Trumble noted the only matters for which Trewin had been before the court since 2010 were breaches of the reporting obligations, and he hadn’t engaged in any other form of criminal activity.

Ms Trumble told Trewin he needed to be “over the top with reporting”, even when the breach wasn’t his fault, as it was “better to be safe than sorry”.

Trewin was fined $500.