Wesley Shane Oliver: Jury finds man guilty of depriving girl, 6, of liberty at Geraldton foreshore toilets

A District Court jury has found a man guilty of trying to lure a six-year-old girl into a public toilet while he was drunk and stoned on the Geraldton foreshore. Wesley Shane Oliver, 32, stood trial this week after pleading not guilty to deprivation of liberty. He was found guilty and was sentenced to a six-month community-based order. During the day on October 7, 2022, Wesley was drinking port from a cask near the foreshore basketball court when a six-year-old wandered away from her father towards a public toilet block, the court heard. State prosecutor Hannah Pike said Wesley followed the girl towards the toilets, where he ushered the child inside by directing her with his arms outstretched, body learning forward and slightly squatting. Ms Pike said CCTV cameras captured Oliver “shepherding” the young girl into the bathroom. The court was told the girl left the toilets visibly upset, stunned and crying. Defence lawyer Clare Brennan said it was natural for people to be wary of strangers and the girl’s father was clearly stressed and confused his daughter was upset, but Oliver was someone who could not prove his innocence easily and the CCTV was “not clear, too distant and lacking clarity”. “There are too many things we don’t know about what happened at the foreshore,” she said. Ms Brennan said Oliver had short-term memory loss and limited education — circumstances that made it difficult for him to prove his innocence. The jury delivered a verdict shortly after the trial ended on Tuesday, finding Oliver guilty of deprivation of liberty. In sentencing Oliver, Judge Michael Bowden took into account that Oliver had spent 11 months in custody, that he came from a “deprived background”, and that his life was dominated by alcohol issues. “It seems to me that you may well have been so intoxicated you can’t recall what took place,” Judge Bowden said. “You simply can’t approach children, down at the foreshore or anywhere. It is as simple as that.”