A Queensland judge halted a sentencing hearing and ordered five minutes of silence in the courtroom after a defence barrister sought to downplay the seriousness of a man's sexual offence against a 14-year-old girl. Acting Judge Ryan Haddrick at Brisbane District Court interrupted barrister Damien Gates mid-argument, telling him to sit down for five minutes so the court could experience how long that period of time actually feels. The moment was intended to underline that the offending was sustained rather than fleeting, and it drew attention to how such crimes are characterised in court.

The 35-year-old defendant, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, had pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual conduct with the child. Mr Gates had told the court his client acted on the basis that "penile intercourse lasted five minutes, not more than that, and he desisted", attributing the incident to "poor impulse control". The judge responded that in five minutes "the penny should have dropped" before the act occurred, stressing the conduct "went on for a sustained period of time". The court also heard that the man and the girl had shared dinner and smoked cannabis beforehand, and the barrister suggested the girl had made "something of an invitation".