Director of Public Prosecutions v Manoharan
[2025] VCC 1635
•12 November 2025
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-23-01054
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| GUNASEELEAN MANOHARAN |
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JUDGE: | Kelly | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 25 September 2025 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 12 November 2025 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Manoharan | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2025] VCC 1635 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW – SENTENCE
Catchwords: Sexual assault of a child under 16 – sexual assault – breach of trust by employer – no prior convictions – risk of deportation – guilty after trial
Legislation Cited: Sentencing Act 1991; Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004
Cases Cited:Narang (a pseudonym) v The Queen [2022] VSCA 103; Lugo v The Queen [2020] VSCA 75; Guden v The Queen [2010] VSCA 196
Sentence: Total effective sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment and 12 months’ CCO
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Mr Paul D’Arcy | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr Rohan Barton | Giorgianni & Liang Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
Introduction
Summary of offending
1Mr Manoharan, between 2020 and 2022, you operated a bar and restaurant in Horsham. You employed Karen Quinn,[1] who was 15 years old. You also employed Myra Walsh,[2] who was 25.
[1] A pseudonym.
[2] A pseudonym.
First victim – ‘Karen Quinn’
2Ms Quinn worked with you for four months between March and June 2021.
3You commented on her appearance and her personal and sexual relationships. You told her that if she was your age, you would marry or date her.
Charge 3 – Sexual assault of child under 16
4In Ms Quinn’s first fortnight of employment, you approached her when she stood at the front counter checking in for her shift.
5You leant down in front of her to pick up your AirPods from a shelf. You complained of dog hair and lint on her work clothes and patted her down with both of your hands. You patted her back, her buttocks and her legs. You then rubbed the front of her body, over her shoulders, down to her breasts and her waist.
Charge 4 – Sexual assault of child under 16
6About one month after Ms Quinn started work, she was at the front counter commencing her shift. You stood behind her and patted her with both hands on her back, buttock and hips. You said you were tidying her uniform. You moved your hands, brushing around her upper thighs.
7She felt uncomfortable and stepped back.
Charge 5 – Sexual assault of child under 16
8She bought a top at Cotton On for a friend’s party on 1 May 2021. She took the Cotton On shopping bag to her shift.
9You and she were standing behind the front counter where she checked in for work. You asked her what she had bought. She showed you the top. You told her she should wear it to her next shift and added that she had lint on her clothes.
10She turned to commence her shift. You stood behind her. You touched her with both hands on either side of her waist down to her hips, then to her back, tailbone, and the upper part of her buttocks.
Charge 6 – Sexual assault of child under 16
11On 20th of May 2021, your business held a pop-up stall at the Horsham show grounds selling food from the restaurant.
12Ms Quinn was working at the stall. Other employees were present including you and your wife.
13Ms Quinn walked behind the tables to move an esky. You approached her from behind and patted her back. You moved your hands down her hips and onto her buttock. You made a comment about brushing off lint and dog hair from her clothing.
14You continued working at the stall and Ms Quinn returned to the restaurant and finished her shift.
15Later that evening, she called you and advised she would not be returning to work anymore. She recorded part of that conversation with you. She provided the recording to police.
16At one point, you said, ‘If I hurt you, you tell me.” She said, “Guna, please, I don’t like this. Please don’t talk to me and please don’t touch me I don’t like this.” You responded, “if you tell me, I do- I never do that.”
17She never returned to work. Throughout her employment she had disclosed some of your conduct to her mother, and, later, to other people, including the second victim, Ms Walsh.
Second Victim – ‘Myra Walsh’
Charge 7 – Sexual assault
18Ms Walsh was employed at your restaurant from mid-2021 for a few months as a chef.
19You made comments to her about her tattoos during each shift she worked
20On the 1st of January 2022, her father-in-law passed away and she took some time off work. On 10 January 2022, she returned to work, rostered to start at 5:30PM. There were two other employees scheduled to work the same shift.
21You were the only other person in the restaurant when she arrived. She walked into the kitchen to start her shift.
22You walked out of the kitchen and locked the front door.
23You told her you had told the others to come about half an hour later because the restaurant wasn’t going to be busy.
24You stood near the bench in the kitchen. She stood about one metre away near the dishwasher. You asked her how she was, and she became upset.
25You walked over to her and hugged her. You forced your arms between her ribs and her arms. You wrapped your arms around her tightly and placed your head between her neck and shoulder. She left her arms by her side.
26You let go of her, grabbed her arms and tried to wrap them around your body. She held her arms loosely around you.
27You held her and told her you missed her. You kissed her on her neck near her collarbone, on her cheek, and along her jawline, while you held her.
28There was a knock on the back door. You jumped away from her and unlocked the door. Another employee walked in and asked why the door was locked.
29The next day, you approached her. You grabbed her arms and pulled them towards you trying to get her to hug you. She pushed you away and said, “I don’t like hugs”, and you asked, “why not?”. She responded, “I just don’t like them.” You walked away.
30She disclosed your offending to her husband. She resigned on 22 January 2022, sending a message identifying issues she had with her employment. Part of the message read, “(he) took advantage of an emotional situation and forced me to hug (him) multiple times, kissed my neck and face and even locked the restaurant door so (he) could not be interrupted.”
Investigation
31Police were notified of the allegations. You were arrested and interviewed on 2 December 2022. You denied there had been any issues with staff. You denied ever commenting on their appearance or their uniforms. You also denied touching staff and stated you did not want to discuss the respective employees when questioned.
32You pleaded Not Guilty to these charges. A jury of your peers found you guilty. It acquitted you of two charges relating to another employee. The maximum penalty for each offence is 10 years.
33Sexual Assault of a Child is a standard sentence offence. The standard sentence is 4 years. Having been found guilty of three or more Class 2 offences, you are liable under the Sex Offenders Registration Act to mandatory life reporting.
Circumstances of offender
34You were born in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, India. You are now 42 years old. You live in Bendigo with your wife and children.
35You emigrated to Australia in 2014, having been wedded in2013 in an arranged marriage. Your wife gave evidence on your behalf at trial. You met as neighbours when children and have two children, both boys, aged 4 and 10.
36You have limited support in the community and your family is isolated.
37You were educated in India, attending a government school in Chennai where you obtained a degree in Hotel management and catering technology.
38You have taught yourself English.
39You worked as a chef in Lismore NSW when you arrived. You and your wife are now on bridging visas.
40You catered on cruise ships before emigrating to Australia. You travelled extensively through the Atlantic.
41After leaving Lismore, you ran a hotel in Victoria. After running the business in Horsham, you moved to Bendigo in December 2022.
42You ran a restaurant in Bendigo, but it failed and you are now an employee chef. Your wife works in retail.
43In Horsham, you were involved in fundraising work, and your restaurant raised $5,000 for the family of the late Bree Eerden, a young mother with small children who passed away suddenly.
Defence Submissions
44Mr Barton conceded that the offending against Ms Quinn merits a prison sentence. He does not concede that the offending against Ms Walsh justifies gaol. He argued that a combined term of imprisonment with a community correction order is the best way of accommodating the sentencing purposes in s 5 of the Sentencing Act.
45Mr Barton also accepted that the offending against FR[3] is relevant to my assessment of your prospects of rehabilitation and the objective gravity of this offending. Your offending against FR occurred in 2019 when you operated a hotel in Victoria. She was 16. You employed her as a waitress and kitchenhand. You asked her if she wanted a massage. She did not. You were alone at work with her. You massaged her shoulders, back and buttocks. A little later, you returned to massaging her, rubbing her shoulders, her back, her buttocks and legs. You put your hands under her t shirt and touched her skin and the underside of her bra. You stopped to answer the phone.
[3] A pseudonym.
46You pleaded guilty to this offending and you were convicted and sentenced in December 2022 to a community correction order. You were put on the Sex Offenders Register for eight years.
47Although you offended against FR in 2019, you were not sentenced until after you had committed these offences. You are therefore to be sentenced for a second time as a ‘first offender’.
48Mr Barton accepted that general deterrence and denunciation have a central role. He suggested that your moral culpability is low for charge 7, the sexual assault, because you only offended against Ms Walsh once. As Mr D’Arcy observed, your victim immediately resigned, putting paid to any further opportunity for unbidden intimacy between you.
49As to community protection, Mr Barton says that you now have limited involvement with children due to your work as a chef in Bendigo.
Prosecution Submissions
50Mr D’arcy submitted that a term of imprisonment with a non-parole period is required, and that a combination sentence is not within range.
51He also submitted that whilst sexual assault of a child under 16 has a standard sentence of four years’ imprisonment, most of the cases involving this charge involve objectively more serious offending, often involving touching of the victim’s genitals. He referred me to the cases of Bnarang, and Lugo, which involve graver offending. As Priest JA observed in Lugo, generally physical contact with a child’s vagina will be objectively more serious than physical contact with the child’s chest.[4]
[4] Lugo v The Queen [2020] VSCA 75 (Priest JA) [55].
52Bnarang,[5] involved a rolled-up count of sexual assault of a child under 16. The offender was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 1 year and 7 months. He was a 44 year old yoga teacher who sexually assaulted a 15 year old victim when she attended a class of his with her mother. Using the pretext of instructing her, of instructing her, he lifted up the child’s t-shirt, grabbed her breasts and moved his hands inside her underwear, touching her vagina for about a minute. He tried to kiss the victim but she pulled away. He then grabbed the victim’s wrist to move her hand towards his penis. She resisted, and he touched her vagina and breasts.
[5] Narang (a pseudonym) v The Queen [2022] VSCA 103.
53He had no prior convictions and was 47 years old at sentence. He had depression and anxiety. He received a discount for pleading guilty during COVID-19, which had caused procedural delays.
54There were several aggravating features. The offending was audacious and done in the presence of the child’s mother. It was a breach of trust.
55Lugo,[6] involved three charges of sexual offending by a 47 year old father against his biological daughter, who was between 9 and 11 years old. He was sentenced to five years’ and 10 months’ imprisonment, with a 3 year, 11 month non-parole period.
[6] Lugo (a pseudonym) v The Queen [2020] VSCA 75.
56The offender entered the victim’s bedroom, put his tongue in her mouth and touched her on the vagina. She tried to push him away, but he kissed her on the breast. The indecent assault charge related to an episode where he put her hand against his penis.
57He was 49 years’ when sentenced, had no prior convictions, made admissions to authorities, had a decent work history, participated in rehabilitation programs and had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation.
58His offending was objectively graver than yours and his moral culpability was higher. It involved a despicable breach of trust by a father whose job was to protect, nurture and raise his daughter.
59As an employer, you had a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your younger staff members especially. You exploited your position to groom a vulnerable 15 year old girl. You made repeated sexual approaches to her. You abused your authority. You also manipulated your position as Ms Walsh’s employer in abusing her trust in you. You exploited your position when she was emotionally fragile. You ensured you were alone together. You had the power to ensure she was not with anyone else when you chose to sexually assault her by abusing your role as her boss.
60I do not accept that Bnarang or Lugo are analogous to your case and they have not helped me much. But there are a number of concerning features to your offending. You were significantly older than both victims, you manipulated them and exploited their respective vulnerabilities. You did that for base and selfish reasons. You damaged both of them in different ways. You had already offended in a strikingly similar way in 2019 when you chose to offend against Ms Quinn and Ms Walsh. You had not learnt from that earlier episode.
61Mr D’arcy submitted that although you have no prior convictions, you have relevant subsequent convictions from the Horsham Magistrates’ Court on 8 December 2022 where you were sentenced for two unlawful assaults against your wife which you committed in September 2020 and the sexual assault of FR, committed in November 2019.
62You remained on bail until I remanded you in custody after the jury returned its verdicts.
Gravity of Offending & Moral Culpability
63Your offending involved a breach of trust. You took advantage of your position of seniority as an employer to exploit two vulnerable female employees.
64The offending occurred in the workplace, where they were entitled to feel secure.
65Your moral culpability in relation to Ms Quinn is higher because it was repeated, persistent, the power imbalance between you was greater and she was a vulnerable junior employee. She was only 15. You persisted until she resigned.
66Although you offended against Ms Walsh once, you locked the door and instructed other staff to attend work late so that you could isolate her. You took advantage of her fragile emotional condition. You were predatory.
67You had previously offended against a 16-year-old employee of yours. Your moral culpability for these offences is high. They are not objectively grave examples of their type, but the impact of your offending has been deep.
Victim Impact Statement
68Both victims have provided Victim Impact Statements.
69Ms Quinn says your offending caused her to grow up quickly. She struggled with helplessness every day, had trouble sleeping, and developed a deep distrust of men and coworkers. It has been difficult for her to build healthy relationships, feel safe in professional settings, or trust the intentions of those around her. The trial reopened those wounds and exacerbated the pain. The years of waiting left her carrying anxiety, shame and fear daily. When she was 16, police attended school and she was taken out of class for interview. This started rumours that spread throughout school. She felt exposed, embarrassed, and judged without anyone knowing the truth. She sought therapy and mental health treatment for the trauma, shame, and isolation caused by your offending, and she has worked hard to rebuild her sense of stability and wellbeing.
70Ms Walsh has described the ongoing impact your offending has had on her mental health.
Prospects of Rehabilitation
71On 31 October 2025, your suitability for a Community Corrections Order was assessed. You were placed on a CCO on 8 December 2022. That Order was suspended pending the outcome of your trial. It is due to expire on 22 November 2025.
72Corrections assessed you as a medium risk of general reoffending and as unsuitable to undertake a CCO, due to your poor insight into the offending and its impact on your victims.
73You appeared confused when asked about the offending and asked, “why are you asking me this, I am fighting the charges.” You said, “I didn’t do it, I am not a sex offender.” When you were asked about kissing Ms Walsh on the neck, you said, “the business wasn’t open.” You said, “I was in Melbourne. I have bank statements to show no money came in. I gave this to my solicitor, but it was too late.” You were asked if you denied the offending and you replied, “yes.”
74You either minimised or denied this offending. You said, “they offered me a CCO if I plead guilty, not go to jail. I am pleading guilty to get a CCO, I am not a sex offender.”
75Although you indicated you would engage with programs on a CCO, Corrections doubt your treatment readiness and your willingness to address your offending. You continue to deny your offending.
Guilty Plea
76Mr Barton conceded that given the jury’s findings of guilt, there is no evidence of remorse. You get no credit for facilitating justice or sparing the expense of a trial. Although he relied on delay in mitigation, you were offered a summary contest but you elected to take these charges to the County Court and put them before a jury of your peers. You engaged seven different firms of solicitors, obviously unhappy with the advice you received. This restlessness prolonged the time before your charges were finalised. Although these charges have been hanging over your head for years, you are largely responsible for the delay in finalising them. There is no evidence of you reformation or rehabilitation in the meantime. This delay is not mitigatory.
77It is your right to contest the charges. You will not be punished for choosing to fight, but you do not receive the benefits given to those who plead guilty, demonstrate reformation or express regret.
78Mr Barton submits that you have been on bail for a long time and you and have always complied with your bail conditions. I will adjust your sentence modestly to reflect the inconvenience to you of being on bail, but you are responsible for many of the delays in getting these charges heard.
Risks of Deportation
79Mr Barton submitted that you risk being deported as you are presently on a bridging visa. Your time in custody will be more oppressive due to the fear and anxiety of your uncertain immigration status.[7] I will moderate your sentence a little to reflect that your time in custody will be more unsettling and stressful for you.
[7] Guden v The Queen [2010] VSCA 196.
Sentencing Principles
80Pursuant to s 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991, the purposes for which you are to be sentenced are:
(a) To punish you in a manner and to an extent which is just in all of the circumstances;
(b) To deter you or others from committing similar offences in future;
(c) To facilitate rehabilitation;
(d) To manifest the denunciation of your conduct;
(e) To protect the community; or
(f) A combination of two or more of these purposes.
Sentence
81Charge 3, Sexual Assault of a Child: 5 months’ imprisonment and 12 months’ Community Correction Order.
82Charge 4: Sexual Assault of a Child: 7 months’ imprisonment and 12 months’ Community Correction Order.
83Charge 5: Sexual Assault of a Child: 5 months’ imprisonment and 12 months’ Community Correction Order.
84Charge 6: Sexual Assault of a Child: 5 months’ imprisonment and 12 months’ Community Correction Order.
85Charge 7: Sexual Assault: 12 months’ Community Correction Order.
86Charge 4 is the base sentence. 2 months of charge 3 are to be cumulated; one month of charge 5 is to be cumulated and 2 months of charge 6 is to be cumulated, producing a sentence of 12 months.
87There are a number of additional conditions attached to the Community Corrections Order:
(a) You have to perform 100 hours of unpaid community work over a period of 12 months as directed by the Regional Manager. 50 hours of treatment and rehabilitation satisfactorily undertaken are to be counted as hours of unpaid community work for the purposes of the unpaid community work condition.
(b) You must be under the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer for a period of 12 months.
(c) You are required to be supervised, monitored and managed as directed by the Secretary, or his or her nominee.
(d) You must undergo programs or courses aimed at addressing factors relating to the offending as directed by the Regional Manager.
(e) You must attend for review of your progress and compliance or otherwise with conditions of the Order and you have got to come back before me on 25 March 2027.
88I declare 48 days’ pre-sentence detention as time served.
89You are to be registered for mandatory life reporting under the Sex Offenders Registration Act.
90Pursuant to section 6F of the Sentencing Act, I declare you a serious sexual offender.
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