A Canberra man who repeatedly raped a 13-year-old girl after meeting her on social media platform Reddit, and despite asking for proof of her age, has been labelled by a judge as knowing he was committing serious crimes.
From Online Contact to Criminal Abuse
Luke Michael Hilton, who was 31 at the time, initially met the vulnerable teenager online. The ACT Supreme Court accepted that he genuinely believed she was 19 years old when their contact began. Consequently, he faces no charges for sexual acts that occurred before mid-2024.
However, the situation changed drastically when Hilton learned the child's true age. Justice Belinda Baker revealed that Hilton had directly asked the girl for identification, expressing concern about her age and the potential consequences for child abusers in prison.
"I kinda wanna see some form of ID if you can work on that," Hilton wrote to his victim, according to evidence presented in court. The girl first claimed to be 17 before confessing she was only 13.
Persistent Abuse Despite Knowing the Truth
Despite this revelation and claiming to feel guilt, Hilton's criminal actions escalated. He has admitted to engaging in sexual acts with the child on at least six occasions after discovering her age, conduct that legally constitutes rape as she could not consent.
The pair also continued exchanging a large volume of sexualised messages, images, and videos, which are classified as child abuse material. Justice Baker said Hilton's continued contact and organisation of meetings showed a "complete disregard" for the impact of his crimes on the victim.
Hilton further isolated the teenager by encouraging her to sneak out at night and lie to her parents. The offending only came to light when the girl's mother discovered the messages and reported the matter to police.
Sentencing and Impact
On Monday, December 1, 2025, Hilton faced Justice Baker in the ACT Supreme Court after pleading guilty to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child. The specific details of his sentence are subject to a non-publication order and cannot be revealed until it is finalised.
In a victim impact statement, the child's mother wrote about the profound damage caused, stating: "My confidence and resilience as a parent also suffered just when my child needed me most." While the teenager did not provide her own statement, Justice Baker noted that such offending typically has "profound and deleterious effects on the victim."
The court heard that Hilton, who later described his actions as a "serious error of judgement," has diagnoses of autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A psychologist found these conditions likely contributed to his offending. Justice Baker accepted he now shows remorse, despite earlier attempts to minimise his responsibility.
Support is available: Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.
