David Kenneth Gilchrist sentenced for historic sexual assault

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David Kenneth Gilchrist sentenced for historic sexual assault
3 minutes

A serial sexual predator with a history of forcing women to perform oral sex on him has been jailed for three years for a historic assault on a Brisbane woman in the 1990s.

David Kenneth Gilchrist was only 29 when he broke into a woman’s house more than 22 years ago and forced a woman at knifepoint to perform oral sex on him.

The 51-year-old received a three year jail term at Brisbane District Court on Monday but will not spend any time behind bars after Judge Geraldine Dann ordered the term be suspended for four years.

Gilchrist showed little emotion as his history of sexual offending since the 1990s, all against women, was read to the court.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty, break and enter and indecent assault with a circumstance of aggravation but his sentencing was delayed in August.

Crown prosecutor Aleksandra Nikolic said Gilchrist broke into a woman’s New Farm home on New Year’s Day in 1997 by entering a window.

Wearing socks on his hands and a mask to cover his face, he unplugged the woman’s phone from the wall while she slept.

Ms Nikolic said the 33-year-old woman awoke to Gilchrist sitting on her bed with a knife pointed at her throat.

The woman attempted to flee but was wrestled to the ground by Gilchrist, who forced her to perform oral sex on him.

“He told her there was no point going to the police as there would be no fingerprints”, Ms Nikolic said.

The investigation was re-opened in 2018, with Gilchrist being identified with DNA evidence.

Gilchrist’s assault preceded a string of sexual offending against women, one involving the sexual assault of an 18-year-old at knifepoint in Caboolture. He was jailed for 14 years in 1998.

Gilchrist was released on a supervision order in 2012 but returned to prison after breaching his conditions.

Defence lawyer Janice Crawford said Gilchrist was considered a low risk of sexual re-offending because of his ongoing rehabilitation.

She said her client had already served a lengthy period in custody and had built a “stable life in the community”.

“The past eight years of a community life, with no sexual offending since the mid-to-late 90s… he has built a constructive life,” Ms Crawford said.

Judge Dann said Gilchrist’s actions were “extremely serious” in a place where a person was “entitled to feel safe”.

She sentenced Gilchrist to three years’ jail but suspended his sentence for four years.