{"id":785058,"date":"2026-07-07T15:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/785058\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:37:15","slug":"brisbane-child-abuser-could-be-free-within-months-mother-gutted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/785058\/","title":{"rendered":"Brisbane child abuser could be free within months, mother \u2018gutted\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mother says she feels \u201cgutted\u201d over a sentence<\/a> handed to a retiree who groomed her daughter and attempted to rape another young girl in a park.<\/p>\n

Colin Max Behan, 79, may be free in months after being sentenced in Brisbane<\/a> District Court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Colin Max Behan.\u00a09News<\/p>\n

Behan had pleaded guilty to seven offences including the attempted rape of the 10-year-old in the park and procuring a 12-year-old girl for sex.<\/p>\n

He will be eligible for parole in mid-October after being sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment with 14 months already served.<\/p>\n

The mother of a girl Behan tried to exploit said justice had \u201cnot at all\u201d been served.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was actually pretty gutted,\u201d she told reporters outside court.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the children? She has to live in fear for the rest of her life … it\u2019s gut-wrenching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behan entered court with a mobility walker and frequently stared down and shook during the hearing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The mother of a young girl groomed by elderly retiree Colin Max Behan speaks to media outside the Brisbane District Court.\u00a0AAP Image\/Rex Martinich<\/p>\n

Judge Carl Heaton paused proceedings multiple times to check if Behan was still conscious.<\/p>\n

Behan engaged in persistent attempts to groom one of the girls and force the other into sex, Judge Heaton heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis offending is abhorrent and should not be tolerated,\u201d the crown prosecutor said.<\/p>\n

Behan followed the 10-year-old girl in a public park north of Brisbane in February 2025 before making demands and assaulting her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said \u2018no\u2019, but you persisted and offered her $10,\u201d Judge Heaton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe felt scared and threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behan later blamed the girl and claimed she initiated the behaviour.<\/p>\n

On a later date Behan had the girl ride on his mobility scooter before attempting to rape her.<\/p>\n

Behan in August 2024 sent text messages to a 12-year-old girl asking for her to send \u201cnudes\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you please, I\u2019ll do anything,\u201d he texted.<\/p>\n

Behan later showed a pornographic film while the girl was playing a game on his computer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe poses real and substantial risk to the community,\u201d the crown prosecutor said.<\/p>\n

Defence barrister Sean Franklin said Behan had no prior criminal record except for drink driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he read the victim impact statements, he hung his head in shame and said \u2018I\u2019m so, so, so sorry\u2019,\u201d Franklin said.<\/p>\n

In sentencing, Judge Heaton said the victims suffered profound consequences that would significantly change the course of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe focus is the need to protect children from the predatory proclivities of people such as you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Outside court, the grooming victim\u2019s mother delivered a message for any parole board considering an early release for Behan.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mother says she feels \u201cgutted\u201d over a sentence handed to a retiree who groomed her daughter and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-785058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}