A Denmark man who plied a schoolgirl with illicit drugs such as ketamine and MDMA in exchange for a sexual relationship has been sentenced in court and been added to the reportable offenders list.
Justin Arie Bourbon first met the 15-year-old victim on February 15 last year, when she complimented his T-shirt while serving him at a business in Denmark, leading to him asking for her Snapchat details.
In a message later that day, she told him she had earlier taken a number of Imodium pills to experience a high, to which then-25-year-old Bourbon replied that he could offer her “something real”.
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They met up at bus stop at 12.30am early the next morning, and walked to Bourbon’s house where they had sex in his bedroom.
Bourbon claimed he thought she was 17, despite her testifying she had told him her age that day.
A relationship began in which the pair had sex about two-to-three times a week, every second week for about two months, with Bourbon often supplying her with drugs such as ketamine and MDMA during the meetups.
An example of one such exchange occurred on March 10, when the victim caught the bus to Bourbon’s house after school.
They had sex and he gave her a jar containing one gram of ketamine before driving them to the pharmacy to purchase a morning-after pill.
After Bourbon entered the pharmacy, he called her and, giving her a fake name and age to use, handed his mobile to the pharmacist who filled out the order with the false details.
Another incident on March 25 involved the pair driving to a school just after midnight where, after an unsuccessful attempt to have sex on playground equipment, Bourbon set up a swag for them in the carpark to have sex in.
Another exchange with a pharmacist supplying a morning after pill occurred the next day.
On March 27, Bourbon touched the victim sexually while she showered before providing three lines of ketamine for her to snort.
They again had sex, after which he gave her more MDMA and ketamine in containers.
The matter was reported to police on May 5.
Bourbon was charged with six counts of sexually penetrating a child over 13 and under 16, to which he pleaded guilty in Albany District Court on August 19, only weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial.
The pleas came in exchange for prosecution dropping another five of the same charges, as well as one of wilfully destroying evidence and another of impeding another’s normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the neck.
Speaking in defence of his client before his sentencing in Albany District Court on Monday, defence lawyer Bruno Illari said, while the relationship was “very unwise”, he denied it was transactional or predatory.
“Yes, there were sex was involved. Yes, there were occasions on which drugs were supplied, but his perception was that she was a willing participant and a happy participant in what they were doing,” he said.
Judge John Staude disagreed, saying messages from the child showed her asking him for drugs as she was not able to access them herself, promising that she would “make it worth his while”.
He also noted that Bourbon did not use drugs himself and sourced them solely for the victim.
“Although it may not have been transactional in the sense that Mr Illari used that word, it was clearly a sex-for-drugs relationship,” he said.
“You used the supply of drugs to encourage a sexually gratifying relationship for yourself.
“Supplying drugs to a child is corrupting as you enable the child access to drugs that they otherwise couldn’t get and also show a disregard for the victim’s personal wellbeing.
“You would have known of the hazards of this drug use, and you would have appreciated that she was vulnerable by reason under her personal circumstances to be susceptible to drug use, and that would have been apparent from the very beginning of the relationship on the first night you met.”
Judge Staude sentenced Bourbon to three years jail, backdated to begin on May 13, 2025, and made him eligible for parole.
He placed him under a lifetime violence restraining order not to go near or contact the victim and made him a reportable offender.
Bourbon will next appear in Perth Magistrates Court from custody on September 29 for a trial allocation date for two counts of possessing a prohibited drug and failing to obey an order given by an officer.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or Sexual Assault Counselling Australia on 1800 211 028, the WA Sexual Assault Resource Centre on 6458 1828 or 1800 199 888 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
