A man who represented Australia at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics sexually abused four girls over the span of a year, leaving one with "grief, humiliation and heartache".
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"This whole process has really destroyed me," that victim said, of reporting the crime, in an impact statement tendered to the Queanbeyan District Court.
Benjamin Wynn, 21, is awaiting sentencing for a number of charges, including multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child and one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
The skier committed his crimes in the NSW Snowy Mountains region when he was 18 and his victims were aged between 14 and 15. He is set to be sentenced later this month from the Sydney Downing Centre.
"The stereotype around sexual assault horrified me coming into this," the same victim said.
"I was more than a victim of Ben Wynn and I am more than the initials used to describe what he did to me."
After making her statement to police, she described feeling "embarrassed and just really frightened".
"I struggled to fall asleep and often was up all night. My grades dropped and I lost all my confidence," she wrote in the statement.
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Court documents detail Wynn knowing that all four of his often outwardly reluctant victims were under the age of 16 before he engaged in sexual acts with them.
The man was also aware the age of consent was 16.
"The offender told [a victim] not to tell anyone what had happened," court documents state.
"The offender told [a victim] that he could go to jail."
The man persisted with many of his crimes despite the girls telling him they did not want to have sex or were uncomfortable.
"I've never done this before, can we stop?" one victim told Wynn.
He would ignore the excuses being made by that child, her head shaking, and repeated cries of pain while he raped her.
Another victim was described as "scared and uncomfortable" during one incident.
"From now on, I will only find space in my mind to pity him. I can no longer live with the resentment and hate," the first victim said of her perpetrator.
"All I hope is that Ben is served a consequence that reflects how he treated me and others that are counted as victims."
Wynn is in custody. He is set to learn his fate later this month.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Blue Knot Foundation 1300 657 380.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
