Arabic version: سجن لاعب هوبارت هوريكانز السابق آرون سامرز بتهمة الاعتداء الجنسي على طفلة

According to ABC News, former Hobart Hurricanes cricketer Aaron William Summers has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for sexually abusing and grooming a 15-year-old girl. The 30-year-old pleaded guilty in June to two counts of penetrative sexual abuse of a young person and one count of grooming.

The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard that Summers met the girl at a Hobart Hurricanes match in 2017, when he was 21. After they exchanged social-media messages, he arranged to collect her from her home and drove her to a local primary school, where he sexually abused her twice.

Justice Helen Wood said Summers knew the girl was under 17 and at high school, but did not ask her age. The grooming offence related to social-media conversations in which he sent explicit photographs of himself and requested photographs from the girl. Justice Wood said his role as a sportsperson had given him contact with young people and enabled the offending.

The sentence was backdated to June 28 because of time Summers spent in remand. Justice Wood suspended the final 20 months, meaning he is expected to leave prison in April next year, subject to strict conditions including compliance with probation officers and psychological treatment.

Summers previously served three years and 11 months in the Northern Territory after pleading guilty in November 2021 to offences including possessing and transmitting child abuse material. Justice Wood said he had completed an intensive sex offender treatment program and accepted responsibility for his offending. The court heard he would likely return to Western Australia, where his family lives, after his release.