Man who groped Kalgoorlie paramedic told police he ‘tripped and fell’

A man who sexually assaulted a female paramedic while she was giving medical attention to another person later told police he “tripped and fell”. A paramedic had been called to a South Kalgoorlie address on June 2 to assist a woman, and while providing medical attention to that woman Arnold Walker approached her from behind and touched her on the buttock. The victim continued working, but when she again felt him grab her buttock she stopped her work and told him to move away. As she moved to get distance from Walker, he reached out and grabbed her breast and smiled. Feeling unsafe, she drove to another location to continue providing medical assistance. When later confronted by police, Walker, 28, told them he “tripped and fell”. However, in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on Thursday he pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful and indecent assault. Magistrate Melita Medcalf said the offence was aggravated by the fact the victim was providing medical assistance and his actions interfered with that. Defence lawyer Leneva Polmear said Walker was ashamed of his behaviour and understood that it was inappropriate. She said he was from Tjuntjuntjara and had become “stranded” in Kalgoorlie-Boulder along with other members of his family. She said this often led to an increase in drinking, and an increase in offending. Walker was recently sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment in the Kalgoorlie District Court for burglary and steal motor vehicle charges where the same explanation of being stranded in Kalgoorlie was given. Due to the DC sentence handed down recently, Ms Medcalf sentenced Walker to four months’ imprisonment concurrent, meaning he would not spend any additional time behind bars for the separate offending.