Teen jailed for autistic man's death

A teenager who stabbed an autistic man to death in a Sydney toilet block has been sentenced to seven years in jail.

Thirty-five-year-old Gerard Fleming, who had a mild form of autism, died after being stabbed twice in a toilet block at Narrabeen, on Sydney's northern beaches, in 2007.

A Year 11 student, who was 16 at the time, was found guilty of manslaughter.

The court heard the teenager had been drinking with Gerard Fleming, but told a friend the 35-year-old tried to rape him in the toilet block, which was a well-known gay beat.

In handing down the sentence, Justice Kirby said the crime was compulsive and the offender was remorseful.

But he said human life is sacred and it was still a senseless death that had arisen from a misunderstanding.

He sentenced the teenager to seven years' jail with a non-parole period of three-and- a-half years.