Man allegedly groomed, indecently assaulted girl with an intellectual disability

CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged child abuse.

A man is accused of grooming an underage girl, who apparently lives with an intellectual disability, before he allegedly repeatedly indecently assaulted her.

Phillip Cody Welty, 39, has been handed one count of grooming and five counts of committing an act of indecency on a young person.

He and the girl, who is aged under 16, exchanged over 50 telephone calls over three days earlier in November 2024, police allege in court documents.

He allegedly invited her to meet him, telling her to turn off the location services on her phone and calling her “babe” and “baby” when she did so.

It is alleged that when they met up one day, Welty started to indecently assault her by touching her body before she told him, “No”, numerous times, but he replied, “It’s okay”.

He allegedly committed four more acts of indecency on her, including kissing her. The girl alleged she felt like she didn’t have a choice and reciprocated the kiss out of fear.

Police said she felt “upset, scared and angry” after the alleged incident.

Welty allegedly gave her a watermelon cruiser to drink before she ran away and caught a bus out of the area but left behind her bag and an item of clothing.

The police were contacted that same day before Welty was arrested.

“The defendant participated in an interview during the warrant where he made denials about all the allegations,” police said in the documents.

Welty was formally charged in the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday (15 November) before he applied for bail, which was opposed by the prosecutor.

His Legal Aid lawyer argued that the proposed bail conditions could ameliorate any concerns.

These included allowing police to access his mobile phone, not allowing him to access any transport apps on his phone, reporting to a police station five times a week and not being near schools or public places.

The lawyer said he had been under a psychiatric treatment order for over a year and received monthly depot injections.

The prosecutor said an allegation of grooming was considered to be serious, and it was alleged the first act of indecency was committed against the girl despite her telling him, “No”.

She also said police had reported that the girl lived with an intellectual disability, ADHD and anxiety, which spoke to her vulnerability.

But Magistrate James Lawton said while the charges were serious, Welty had not committed offences of a similar nature before and he thought the proposed bail conditions could ameliorate the risks of further alleged offending.

He warned Welty that if he breached his bail conditions, it was very likely he would be remanded in custody.

Bail was granted and the matter was adjourned to 9 December. No pleas were entered.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.