A Sydney man accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in bushland near Thirroul Beach more than two decades ago has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of having sex with a minor, the Illawarra Mercury reported.
Prosecutors agreed to drop the rape charge against Paul Caselli in a plea bargain presented to Wollongong District Court on Tuesday.
In an agreed set of facts tendered to the court, Caselli, then 27 and newly married, admitted to having consensual sex with the teen in shrubbery north of the beach on the morning of January 30, 1993 after exposing himself to her and her friends during a brief encounter earlier in the day..
He later bragged about it to a friend, telling him "I picked up a chick at the beach last week….we went into the bushes and had sex".
The court heard Caselli was at the beach with his wife and another couple when he encountered the victim and her friends while at the outdoor showers near the Thirroul Surf Life Saving Club.
When one of the girls told him to turn around because his shorts were see through, Caselli pulled out his penis and said "you can't get much more see through than that can you".
Caselli, who is now in his late forties, was arrested in 2013 after the male friend who had been with him on the beach that day and had witnessed the shower incident came forward to police with information.
Caselli has previously denied knowing how old the girl was at the time and court documents said he "honestly was of the belief [the victim] was over the age of 16 years" however "accepts that his belief now was not reasonable".
Previous court proceedings included evidence that the girl was "flat-chested" to the point she'd not yet worn a bra, did not wear make-up and had only just turned 14 a few months prior to the incident.
Caselli had his bail continued until his sentence hearing in March next year.
His lawyer said a psychologist report would be prepared ahead of the hearing.
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