Former Cricket Australia media manager Timothy Whittaker avoids jail after touching sleeping colleagues

Timothy Joseph Whittaker, 38, returned to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday after he was found guilty on two counts of intentional sexual touching without consent.

He was sentenced to a community corrections order spanning 30 months, with 300 hours of community work, supervision and counselling.

Whittaker was charged after two men came forward, detailing to police similar experiences of waking up in his bed after a night of heavy drinking to find the former head of communications touching their penises in 2016 and 2019.

“I consider your offending to be more opportunistic rather than predatory as suggested by Ms Coombes,” Magistrate Timothy Gattuso said.

“They were each young men in a state of intoxicated vulnerability.

“You took advantage of that vulnerability … for your own apparent gratification you invaded their privacy and safety.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, one man said the sexual assault had led to years of mental health problems.

“I tried to convince myself it didn’t (happen), it was easier to do this than face what happened,” he said.

“But the reality kept eating away on me.”

Mr Gattuso found, despite the offending, Whittaker was a man of “very good character” with an extensive history of volunteering and charity work.

He found Whittaker was “highly unlikely” to reoffend, noting the incidents coincided with periods of significant stress for the communications boss at Cricket Australia, including the coronial inquest into Phillip Hughes tragic on-field death and the ball-tampering scandal.

Earlier, the court heard the first man complained to Cricket Australia’s human resources department in March 2019 following a staff party.

He was among a group of employees that continued back to Whittaker’s Abbotsford apartment for a nightcap, where he fell asleep on Whittaker’s couch.

Around 5.30am he woke up in Whittaker’s bed with his pants removed, feeling his penis being “jerked”.

The second victim came forward in 2021, saying he woke in Whittaker’s bed in January 2016 following a night of heavy drinking.

Whittaker had his hands down the man’s pants and was “rubbing” his penis.

In his testimony, he told the court he had initially given Whittaker the “benefit of the doubt” and believed he was asleep, but reconsidered after hearing rumours of similar events.

Mr Gattuso found the stress of Whittaker’s work had contributed to his heavy alcohol use.

“While it doesn’t excuse your offending, it puts into perspective why a person of previous good character engaged in such brazen offending,” he said.

A Cricket Australia spokesman said the organisation was “appalled” by the offending.

“We will continue to support the victims as we have done since these offences came to our attention,” the spokesman said.

“We commend their bravery in coming forward to report these crimes and hope the verdict today provides them with a sense of vindication and closure.”

Whittaker’s barrister, Dermot Dann KC, said his client maintained his innocence and intended to appeal the convictions.

Originally published as Former Cricket Australia media manager Timothy Whittaker avoids jail after touching sleeping colleagues