ACT court sentences Craig Emberton, 34, of Calwell to jail for aggravated robbery, rape of sex worker in Canberra

Craig Emberton, 34, faced an ACT Supreme Court sentencing last Friday after pleading guilty to sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated robbery, and destroying evidence with the intention to influence a decision about starting a legal proceeding.

An agreed statement of facts reads that Emberton booked an appointment with the sex worker at a Canberra unit on March 25.

Once inside, he pulled a knife and demanded money before being handed about $430.

The offender, of Calwell, then raped the sex worker and, at one point, removed the condom.

Emberton, a truck driver, then deleted the call log and message history on her phone before leaving the unit, taking the knife and used condom with him.

After he left, the sex worker attended her service provider and retrieved the offender's mobile number before attending the Canberra Hospital for examination.

Three days later, she went to City Police Station before Emberton was arrested.

He participated in an interview in which he claimed he was having financial difficulties and was too embarrassed to ask his friends and family for support.

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In his sentencing remarks, Justice Geoffrey Kennett said the sexual assault was "not premediated but opportunistic" and that it was not an "extended duration" with the offence occurring within a 13-minute window.

"The offender entered the apartment armed and, I infer, with the intention of robbing the victim," he said.

"I am not satisfied that, prior to entering the victim's apartment, the offender had planned to sexually assault her."

The judge said that while the knife was present, it was an aggravating factor only for the robbery, but it was taken into account for the objective seriousness of the rape.

"I accept that the presence of the knife would have instilled fear in the victim's mind," Justice Kennett said.

"No physical injury was occasioned during the course of the offence. However, as is often the case with this type of offending, it has ongoing psychological consequences.

"Offences of this kind are invariably humiliating and degrading to a degree."

However, the judge said this offending was not associated with any kind of gratuitous humiliation or degradation.

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"I consider that the offender's prospects for rehabilitation are strong," he said.

"He has no criminal antecedents and numerous protective factors in place on release, including supportive family and friends, no history of substance abuse, and good prospects of employment."

The judge said the complainant "was somewhat vulnerable" regarding the robbery offence.

"I infer that, because he was attending the apartment under the pretence of obtaining commercial sex services, the offender considered it likely that the victim would be alone inside the apartment and unable to easily obtain assistance," Justice Kennett said.

"No actual violence was inflicted on the complainant.

"Nor was there any overt threat made. However, the brandishing of the knife and the subsequent demand for money constituted an implied threat to use the knife to harm her if she did not comply; it was a threat of some intensity."

Justice Kennett said there was a "significant degree of premeditation involved" because of the offender's financial difficulty.

He said the destroying of evidence was unsophisticated as the phone records were easily recovered.

"Any attempt to influence the bringing of a prosecution by the destruction of evidence is an attack on the administration of justice that must be denounced by the court," Justice Kennett said.

Emberton was sentenced to four years and five months' jail, which was backdated to April 5 when he was taken into custody.

With a non-parole period of two years and four months, the offender will be eligible for release in August 2024.

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