House of horror: Child sexual abuse survivor vindicated 16 years after coming forward

A monster who would sexually abuse his stepchild in the shower has been allowed to remain in the community on continuing bail after being convicted of the shocking crimes.

A man has been convicted for the vile sexual abuse he inflicted on his stepdaughter, including urinating on her in the shower.

However, he has been allowed to remain out on bail.

After deliberating for four hours the jury reached a majority and found him guilty of one count of sexual abuse of a child.

The man, 74, has not been identified in order to protect the victim’s identity.

During the trial the Mount Gambier District Court heard he had conditioned the girl to think his abuse was normal.

The court heard the abuse occurred almost weekly between 2004 and 2007, starting when the girl was roughly five.

During her testimony, the court heard it would often happen in the showers, while her mother was out at work.

A South-East man has faced trial for the vile abuse of his stepdaughter. Picture: Arj Ganesan

Prosecutor Gregory Dudzinski said the man would often guide the victim’s hand to his penis when they showered together, which she would hold while he urinated.

The victim told the court her stepdad would often urinate on her and recalled it travelling down her left leg.

“As this became a much more normal, repeated occurrence — she would place her hand there without the physical intervention,” Mr Dudzinski said.

“The defendant would ask (the alleged victim) to hold his penis while he urinated — this again happened with some disturbing regularity.”

The court heard the girl still vividly remembered the bar of soap he would use while he abused her with its smell making her “feel sick to this day”.

The sexual abuse allegations first came to light in 2007, after the girl told her grandmother the man had poured beer over his penis and her genitals, the court heard.

After speaking with police, the alleged victim’s mother decided not to press charges. The victim later approached police in 2021 when she was an adult.

The court heard while watching TV in the lounge room the alleged victim was near her stepdad who was drinking.

“(She) doesn‘t remember all the steps up to what happened – but she remembers the accused pouring beer into her vagina,” prosecutor Gregory Dudzinski said

The court heard the man had been painted by the victim as a “violent monster” who not abused her sexually but her mother domestically.

The man has not been charged in relation to the alleged acts of domestic violence and exercised his right to not take the stand in his own defence.
The victim and members of her family were seen hugging and crying outside of court after the jury delivered their verdict.

The man’s defence lawyer successfully argued for his client to remain on his current bail conditions so he could visit his doctor before his next court appearance.

He will next front court later this month.