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A mum from Western Australia who failed to do anything after she was told by her husband he’d been abusing their 13-year-old daughter has been spared jail.
The court heard that in July 2015, the man “just blurted out” he’d been “molesting” the girl and promised not do it again.
The woman then told her daughter to say “no” to her father and to tell her if anything else happened.
The court was told he started acting inappropriately towards his daughter when she was just four years old.
He started touching her when she was six, but the abuse “intensified” when she was about 11.He recorded some of the abuse and filmed her in the shower.
The abuse wasn’t reported until she told a friend what was happening in December 2015.
The 40-year-old woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct knowing that it may result in harm to a child, but has avoided jail for failing to stop the abuse.
She was given a 12-month jail term but it was suspended for 18 months.
The man was sentenced to 7 years’ jail. He will have to serve 5 years before he can be released on parole
Judge Sweeney said the girl was likely to have her self-esteem utterly battered, and to feel insecure and untrusting of males.
“Your main concern was to make sure your husband didn’t go to jail because you didn’t think you’d be able to cope without him,” Judge Sweeney told her.
“You still don’t grasp how badly you let your daughter down and how selfish and self-serving your behaviour was.”
