'I will never forget the fear': Man guilty of Lake Wendouree sexual assault

Cameron Page, 27, pleaded guilty in the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on April 30, 2024, to two charges of sexual assault in relation to the incident.

According to a police summary, Page met up with a woman known to him about 5pm on September 1, 2021, before driving her to a car park near the playground at Lake Wendouree.

The pair spoke in the car for about 30 minutes before Page began touching and rubbing the woman's breasts over her clothes.

The victim told Page to stop, and said she didn't like him touching her, to which he said "sharing is caring".

She replied, "not when it comes to my body, no".

Despite the victim's protests, Page continued assaulting her.

This carried on even after the victim called a friend for support, and escalated to Page moving his hand up the woman's thigh and touching underneath her underwear.

After this, the woman jumped out of the car, and said "don't ever touch me again".

Ten days later, she received a text from Page asking her not to tell the police about the assault because he was scared of losing his job.

Page was arrested and questioned on October 12, 2021, where he admitted to touching the woman's breasts and below her clothing, but didn't comment on her reaction to the touching.

When reading an impact statement to the court, the victim cried while reliving her experience.

She said she used to trust everyone, but the experience had changed her mentally.

"One time he [Page] approached a car I was in, and I started screaming and crying," she said.

"I will never forget the fear I felt."

She also said the incident had affected her relationships with family and friends, and she had suffered from panic attacks, flashbacks and night terrors.

Because of this, she said she wanted Page to know the consequences of his actions.

"I refuse to stay silent any longer on the trauma I faced," she said.

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become."

Page's lawyer, Jervis Dean, said while his client's behaviour was serious, there were a number of mitigating factors.

He said Page had an intellectual disability, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, and at 24 years of age, was youthful at the time of the offence.

Because of his conditions, Mr Dean said his client had limited understanding of "social sexual cues and lack of response to non-verbal indicators".

Mr Dean also said Page had no prior criminal history and was employed as a City of Ballarat binman.

Magistrate Guillaume Bailin said Page had taken advantage of the victim for a long period of time while she was in a vulnerable, enclosed space.

"This is a serious example in the context of what's proceeded, in the face of repeated denials, the offending has escalated," he said.

Mr Bailin said while the misunderstanding of social cues could be attributed to the initial assault, the victim's repeated verbal denials meant this wasn't an adequate defence.

He also said Page had time to reflect on his behaviour during the phone conversation he shared with the victim's friend, but had continued the assault afterwards.

"[This is] opportunistic and flagrant offending for sexual gratification," he said.

"It's a serious example of a serious offence."

The matter was adjourned for Page to be assessed for a community corrections order, but Mr Bailin said the 27-year-old was at risk of going to prison.

Page will return to court on May 13.

Affected by this story? There is help available.

You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.

Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.