Stephen Mitchell gets a longer prison sentence after indecency against another woman

A convicted child abuser has been jailed for another three months after committing an “opportunistic” act of indecency against a woman more than a decade ago.

Warning: This story contains content that may be disturbing to readers.

Stephen Mitchell, 58, was found guilty of an act of indecency against a woman in Canberra in December last year.

Today’s sentence does not change the date he will be eligible to leave prison after the magistrate chose to leave his non-parole status unchanged.

The former national mountaineering coach is already behind bars after being convicted of numerous sex crimes against six girls between 1994 and 2008, including persistent child abuse.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard the man rubbed his erect penis against the buttocks of a then 26-year-old woman during a ‘self-defence’ lesson.

Mitchell first met the victim through the YMCA and PCYC gyms in the late 1990s, when she was just a teenager.

The victim previously told the court that Mitchell “was that male role model, he always gave me ideas about what was the best and safest thing to do”.

The woman left Canberra when she was 19, but the pair remained in touch.

She later returned to care for her mother, who suffered from dementia, and told Mitchell about an abusive relationship with her partner.

The court previously heard Mitchell gave the woman a ‘burner phone’ because her partner was going to take her phone, and offered to show her some self-defence moves.

Magistrate Jane Campbell told the court the lesson was not a ‘ruse’ and that she believed he had genuine motives to teach the victim self-defence techniques but then used the victim’s vulnerability opportunistically.

Mitchell stopped demonstrating after the woman said she understood the move because she felt uncomfortable.

“The resulting trauma suffered by the victim is intense and lasting.”

‘I was so vulnerable’

In a victim impact statement, the woman said “nothing” will change what he did to her.

“I was so vulnerable and he took advantage of me,” she wrote.

“It’s opened up a Pandora’s box that I don’t want to fully unpack at this point.”

She also wrote how she was “doing her best to cope with everyday life” and focus on her children and career.

‘That’s why I choose not to say anything to him.

“Today is his day to stand before you (the court).”

Magistrate Campbell described the offense as “opportunistic” and “not a situation” for which the suspect had already been in court.

“It shows that he is taking advantage of a non-sexual situation to commit a crime,” the court was told.

Sentencing in the case was postponed while Mitchell filed an unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court in August to reduce his prison sentence for child abuse.

Mitchell was sentenced to a further three months in prison for indecency towards the woman, bringing his total maximum sentence to 15 years.

In handing down the man’s sentence, Magistrate Campbell rejected that Mitchell had shown remorse and acknowledged there was a danger to the community.

“He can commit sexual crimes if the opportunity arises, as in this situation.”

He will still be eligible for parole in May 2033.