By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Cranbourne West father who filmed himself squirting white fluid on unsuspecting girls and young women at a shopping centre has been jailed.
Benjamin Robert Holman, 31, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to the 27 sexual assaults over two years at Springvale Shopping Centre as well as creating, possessing and transmitting child abuse material.
In 2018-‘20, the mechanic videoed himself following his victims and squirting their bottoms and legs with a white substance from a syringe, Judge Patricia Riddell said in sentencing on 14 December.
The films were meant to suggest that Holman ejaculated on the females, who were often targeted for wearing tights or leggings, Judge Riddell said.
Holman, who was diagnosed with a fetish for female leggings, used an online profile ‘legginsluver’.
His “brazen”, “predatory” and “very concerning” acts were done sometimes while the unaware victims were in company with adults.
After the acts, he’d continue following them and filming them from behind into car parks and laneways.
Holman also created more than 300 child abuse images and videos, in which he’d splice or morph non-sexual pictures of children off social media with sexually-explicit images and videos of an adult, including himself.
Holman also left sexual comments on images of girls on a Russian-based image sharing website.
His offending was brought to light in March 2022 after Holman requested child abuse material from an undercover police operative online.
“Do you have any content?” Holman wrote to the operative.
“Cause you deff made me nervous asking me questions and not sending any content lol.”
The abuse material was found on an array of electronic devices seized by police from his family home and a friend’s home.
In his back shed was a disassembled female mannequin with a drilled hole in its groin, along with 32 pairs of leggings and a bra. He and the mannequin featured in some of his home-made videos.
Judge Riddell noted that all but one child weren’t aware of being used in the abuse material, and so didn’t experience harm.
The one exception was a teenage victim identified by police. She stated she was unhappy about an online image of her playing sport being sexualised.
The abuse material was on “the milder end” but “the global picture that emerges is a disturbing one”.
Holman had spent hours in filming, editing and producing the abuse material over years. It had escalated from the online world to using real victims in the syringe assaults.
Judge Riddell compared the practice to ‘upskirting’, which involved invasions of privacy even when the victims were unaware.
Holman’s diagnosed fetish disorder explained his offending but didn’t reduce his moral culpability, she noted.
Despite a moderate-to-high risk of reoffending, the accused’s prospects of rehabilitation were “good”. It was in the community interest that Holman was fully rehabilitated, the judge said.
Since his arrest, he had committed himself to pyschotherapy, ceased using online porn and donated $650 to Bravehearts child-protective charity.
His lack of criminal history, early guilty plea, genuine letter of apology, insight and remorse were also noted.
Holman was jailed for 12 months, with a further eight months “hanging over his head” on a recognizance release order.
He would then serve a two-and-a-half year community corrections order including sex programs and mental health treatment.
Holman must report as a sex offender for life.
