Ex-BBL cricketer jailed for sexually abusing teenage fan

A former Big Bash League cricketer who groomed and sexually abused a girl he met at a match will spend 10 months behind bars.

Aaron William Summers used his prominence as a sportsperson to reach young people, Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Helen Wood said.

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Summers was contracted to the Hobart Hurricanes, a franchise in the national Big Bash League, when he met the girl and her friends at a game in Hobart in December 2017.

At another game on January 15, 2018, the pair spoke over the boundary line before they added each other on Instagram and Snapchat.

The next day they arranged to meet, with Summers picking the girl up and driving her to a school at night.

Summers, who was aged 21 at the time, put down a doona at the school before sexually abusing her on two occasions.

Summers knew the girl was in Grade 9 or 10 and under the age of sexual consent, Justice Wood said during sentencing on Wednesday.

She was vulnerable and innocent and Summers hadn’t told her about his sexual intentions.

“She was only 15 and did not have the life experience to realise sex … was all that he was interested in,” she said.

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Summers continued to message the girl after the abuse and sent her naked photos, with their last contact coming in early 2021.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of penetrative sexual abuse of a child and one count of grooming with the intent of exposing a child to indecent material after being extradited to Tasmania from the Northern Territory after serving jail time for similar offending.

Summers spent three years and 11 months behind bars in the NT after pleading guilty in 2021 to possessing and transmitting child exploitation material and intending to procure someone under 16 for sexual activity.

The crimes involved three boys known to Summers through cricket, the court was told.

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The girl came forward to police in Tasmania in 2021 after seeing a news report about his NT offending.

At that time, Summers had a successful career on the international cricket circuit and had a high profile.

But his future as a professional cricketer was now at an end, Justice Wood said.

Summers, a fast bowler, played one game for the Hurricanes in late 2017 and three one-day games for Tasmania after making his debut in 2018.

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Justice Wood noted psychiatrist reports found Summers, now 30, understood the impact of his crimes, had undertaken rehabilitation programs and was motivated to contribute to society.

Summers was jailed for two-and-a-half years, with 20 months of the sentence suspended, meaning he will be released after 10 months.

His jail time in the NT meant there was little need for specific deterrence, but it was important to send a broader message, Justice Wood said.

“As a community we look up to sportspeople. Young people are particularly likely to admire them,” she said.

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It was important that other sportspeople were aware that “heavy punishment” was to be expected if they took advantage of children, she said.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

AAP

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