An Illawarra man has been sentenced to 16 years jail after being found guilty of the decade-long sexual abuse of his biological daughter, with whom he fathered multiple children.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to persistent sexual abuse charges in Wollongong District Court, as well as offences relating to the sexual assault of two siblings dating back to the 1980s, when they were aged 6 and 10 years old.
The Illawarra Mercury reports that the man’s psychologist described him as “highly sexualised”, saying he used sex to cope with problems in his life.
The court heard that the man’s daughter was subjected to 11 years of physical, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of her father from the age of 14. During this time she got pregnant more than once.
She had come to live with her father in the early 2000s after a falling out with her mother. “She came seeking help, shelter and support from her father,” Judge Andrew Haesler said.
“[But] from then until the time of his arrest in 2014, she was subject to abuse and a gross breach of the trust that every daughter must have in her father and every father must show to their daughter.
“From day one he manipulated her by physical and psychological coercion.”
The woman told the court in her victim impact statement that she had complied with her father’s ever-increasing sexual demands out of fear of getting hurt or losing her family.
One of the man’s siblings also delivered a victim statement saying that he and his sibling had lived with the mental pain of their brother’s actions for more than a quarter of a century and had been in counselling for many years as a result.
“My capacity to trust has been taken from me,” the sibling wrote.
Taking into account a non-parole period of 11 years and time served, the man will become eligible for parole in 2025.
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