A "sexual predator" will remain behind bars for the "entirely abhorrent" choking and indecent assault of a "wonderful, brave" 12-year-old girl.
"This was an appalling crime on an innocent, primary school child riding her bicycle home," Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson said on Tuesday.
The girl's attacker, Anthony James Kenyon, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court to seven years jail with a four-year non-parole period.
He has been behind bars since his arrest in February 2022, and the sentence was backdated to take this into account.
Kenyon, 25, had pleaded guilty to committing an act of indecency in the second degree, and committing an act of indecency on a young person.
In 2022, Kenyon indecently assaulted the girl, who was riding her bike home from school, after choking her unconscious.
Speaking directly to Kenyon on Tuesday, Justice Loukas-Karlsson said the attack was "every parent's worst nightmare".
"I recognise it is a nightmare for your parents as well, who had better hopes for you than you becoming a sexual predator," she told Kenyon.
"You've dashed your parents' hopes and dreams and you've dashed the hopes and dreams of this wonderful, brave, young girl."
The girl, in a victim impact statement, described being bullied about the attack at school, having difficulty speaking about it and feeling disgusted.
In an impassioned sentence hand-down, Justice Loukas-Karlsson said the bullying was "cruel and unacceptable at school and in our society".
"I can see from her letter, [the victim] will not allow what happened to her to define her future," the judge stated.
A pre-sentence report author was of the opinion the main factors behind Kenyon's crimes were mental health issues and unaddressed sexual attraction to children.
Kenyon, described as "a loner" by his mother, had communicated this attraction to a psychologist sometime before the attack.
"It is crucial that when people approach health care professionals [with this issue] ... that they be treated with urgency," Justice Loukas-Karlsson said.
"This is how we must protect the community of offences of this nature."
The judge told Kenyon: "You should have done more because you have ruined a young girl's life and this is unacceptable."
"You better show in prison that you are going to turn your life around, if you expect to get parole.
"There must be greater regulation of this depraved material on the internet, and there must be greater emphasis on preventing any offences occurring like this again."
Agreed facts state in February 2023, the 12-year-old was riding her bike through the Fadden Pines wooded area on her way home from school.
Kenyon shoved the girl off her bike before dragging her three metres away from the path.
He then climbed on top of her, straddled her stomach and held her down with his knees, before using both hands to squeeze her neck.
The girl tried to pull his hands off her neck, and slap him, but did not have the strength and eventually gave up.
At some stage after this she lost consciousness.
Last month, a prosecutor argued that while the specifics of the indecent assault were unknown, "the act involved at least the touching of the victim's genital area".
Kenyon will be eligible for release in February 2026.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636.
