Elderly man handed more jail after admitting to sexually abusing daughter and family friend for 16 years

A 71-year-old man will stay behind bars after he admitted to sexually abusing two young girls — one of whom was his own daughter — for more than a decade. The man was sentenced in Perth District Court on July 25 for 30 charges that included sexually penetrating a child, sexually penetrating a child who is a lineal relative and unlawful and indecent dealings with a child under 13. The man changed his pleas on all charges to guilty on the first day of his July 21 trial. The abuse occurred in the regional WA towns of Walpole, Manjimup, Carnarvon, Quinninup and Broome from 1984 to 2000 when the man was aged between 30 to 46-years-old. The first female victim, a family friend, was 10 when the abuse began and experienced it “every few weeks” until she was 14 when it stopped. The abuse against the man’s daughter began when she was four-years-old and stopped when she turned 18. He first raped her when she was 12 and continued to do so on a weekly basis until she was 18. He is told to have often abused his daughter in the family home when her mother and brother were sleeping and during day trips when he worked as a truck driver. The court was told the victims were groomed with lollies and treats, and told by the accused that he would kill himself if they told anyone. Judge Wendy Hughes said the man’s “highly depraved” and “brazened” offending represented a “gross breach of trust” and that both victims were still profoundly impacted by it well into adulthood. “Neither victim — and especially (your daughter) — were in a position to be able to understand or defend themselves against your sexual offending because they were too young to understand the harm you were afflicting upon them,” she said. “I have no doubt — and it’s relevant to my assessment of the seriousness of this offending, and it is aggravating in this case — that your offending has had a profound effect on the two victims, which can only be described as devastating, and is relevant to my consideration in sentencing you today.” Judge Hughes sentenced the man to 7½ years jail. He will serve this after completing the 7½-year term he was handed in April 2024, backdated to November 2022, for the sexual abuse of his then five-year-old granddaughter. Mitigating factors included his age, poor health and pleas of guilty. The man was made eligible for parole. LIFELINE: 13 11 14 1800 RESPECT