27-year-old man jailed for four years for impregnating a child twice

A man arrested after he had a baby with a 13-year-old was told not to contact her. A few months later police were told the child was pregnant again.

A 27-year-old man does not consider himself a pedophile, despite impregnating a barely teenage girl twice, a court has heard.

The District Court heard the man, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of his victim, knew what he was doing was wrong but continued his predatory actions.

The man first met the victim, who was aged 13, in March 2019 and commenced a sexual relationship with her.

The victim fell pregnant in April 2019.

The court heard the man said he did not learn the victim’s age until after the birth of their daughter in December 2019.

The victim would regularly stay overnight at the man’s Tea Tree Gully home with the baby.

“You had set up a cot at your home and had obtained many other items needed to care for your daughter, including clothing, toys, nappies and feeding bottles,” Judge Jo-Anne Deuter said during sentencing.

Police attended the man’s house in January 2021 and he was arrested.

Despite one of his bail conditions being that he not engage with the victim, police were made aware that the victim was six-weeks pregnant in March.

The court heard the victim’s ride share app showed she had visited the man’s home on several occasions during February 2022.

The Wynn Vale man pleaded guilty to maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and unlawful sexual intercourse.

A 27-year-old man was jailed for four years for impregnating a child twice. Photo: File

The court heard the victim’s life had changed dramatically as a result of becoming a teenage mother.

The court heard the man suffers from mitochondrial disease and is on the disability support pension.

Judge Deuter said the offending was made even more serious by the fact the man had sex with the victim again, despite being on bail for the first offending.

“By then you well knew that what you were doing was wrong,” she said.

Judge Deuter said she accepted the man had expressed remorse for his offending and felt pressured by the victim to continue the relationship.

“As a result of your intellectual disability you regarded (the victim) as your girlfriend. You cared for her and regarded her as your family,” she said.

“You do not consider yourself to be a paedophile.

“Your offending was not of an older man simply taking advantage of a child for some twisted sexual gratification as we often see in this court.”

Judge Deuter sentenced the man to four years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and five months.

“There is a significant responsibility on adults to avoid engaging in sexual activity with children and it is the responsibility of an adult to discourage conduct of this kind if pursued by a child,” she said.

The sentence was backdated to March 14.