Alleged Naracoorte child sex offender had conviction overturned on appeal

A man convicted of horrific abuse against a young girl who saw him as a ‘father figure’ has successfully appealed his 10-year jail sentence and will be retried. See why.

A 29-year-old man who was found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl who viewed him as a “father figure” has had his conviction quashed on appeal.

The Naracoorte man, who cannot be identified to protect his alleged victim, was jailed for 10 years, with a non-parole period of five years in April last year.

During sentencing, the District Court heard the alleged victim was the daughter of the man’s partner, who was aged between seven and nine during the offending.

The court heard the man allegedly sexually assaulted the child more than 20 times while her mother was out of the house, working or asleep.

A victim impact statement was read to the court by the victim’s mother, saying he took her daughter’s “childhood, safety and trust”.

An alleged Naracoorte child sex offender had his conviction overturned on appeal. Photo: Facebook

“The consequences of (the man’s) actions haunt me every single day,” she said.

“She loved him, she looked up to him and she thought of him as a father figure when he manipulated her for his own benefit.

“Although I do not hate him, I will never forgive him for what he did, especially to my little girl who just wanted to be loved.”

The offending allegedly occurred for over a year at various locations, including Naracoorte and Murray Bridge.

The talented rugby player was previously found guilty at trial of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child.

In a judgment published last month, Justices Mark Livesey, Samuel Doyle and Auxiliary Justice Michael Buss said they were persuaded there had been a miscarriage of justice in relation to comments made about the reason Parliament created that offence.

They said comments made by the prosecutor and Judge Davison in the trial gave rise to “real risk” the jury would be influenced to relax the approach to the credibility of child sex abuse allegations.

“Parliament brought this offence into law for cases exactly like these,” the prosecutor said during the man’s trial.

“The offence was brought in because children often can’t say exactly how many times something happened, or on what date, or with what precise frequency.”

Counsel, for the man, argued the prosecutor’s submission, which was echoed by Judge Davison, would have encouraged the jury to overlook the inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s evidence and undermine the defence challenge to the matters.

“Rather than referring to difficulties that children may, or often, have when recounting allegations of sexual abuse, the judge said that “children have difficulties [in being precise] when they are abused,” Justices Livesey, Doyle and Auxiliary Justice Buss said.

Justices Livesey, Doyle and Auxiliary Justice Buss overturned the man’s conviction and ordered there be a retrial.