ALCOHOL FOR SEX: ALBANY MAN FINED, SEX CHARGES PENDING

(Content warning: child sexual abuse)

An Albany man has been fined $2,500 for supplying alcohol to girls under 16, after a court heard he provided the drinks in exchange for sexual activity.

Robert Stephen James Elphick, 37, pleaded guilty in Albany Magistrates Court to four counts of supplying juveniles with alcohol on unlicensed premises. He had previously pleaded not guilty in September 2025.

THE OFFENCES

According to the Albany Advertiser, prosecutor Sergeant Gary Simpson told the court the offences occurred on four occasions between 1 August and 26 October 2024.

The court heard Elphick met the girls at parks or bushland in Albany's Mira Mar and Centennial Park areas. Prosecutors said the girls contacted him by text to request alcohol, knowing he expected sexual activity in return.

The drinks were supplied after the encounters and the $2,500 fine covers the four alcohol offences only.

SEX CHARGES STILL BEFORE THE DISTRICT COURT

Defence lawyer Ian MacFarlane told the court that more serious charges arising from the same circumstances (including sexually penetrating a child aged over 13 and under 16, and agreement for prostitution by a child) were progressing through the District Court. Those charges remain unresolved.

Mr MacFarlane said Elphick believed the girls were 17. However, he acknowledged that Elphick knew they were below the legal drinking age and supplied alcohol regardless.

THE MAGISTRATE'S REMARKS

Magistrate Rosemarie Myers said her sentencing task was limited to the alcohol offences, which were punishable by fines.

She found the circumstances made the conduct more serious.

"You were not just supplying alcohol to these young people for their entertainment, there was a caveat to it," she said.

The magistrate imposed fines totalling $2,500 across the four charges.