South East man hears from the child he sexually abused for two and half years

A South East SA father took advantage of a 15-year-old girl following the death of her brother and now the victim has bravely confronted him.

A father sexually abused a vulnerable teenage girl for more than two years with the abuse starting while the young woman was grieving her brother.

The 40-year-old perpetrator, from South East South Australia, cannot be identified to protect the victim.

The woman was in Mount Gambier District Court this week to hear her victim impact statement read out after her abuser pleaded guilty to one count of maintain unlawful sexual relationship with a child and two counts of assault.

The court heard the man groomed her when she was 15.

“I was taken advantage of as a minor,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“In September of 2016, I lost my oldest brother to cancer and then one year later, in 2017, at the age of 14 I was sexually assaulted,” she said in the statement.

“At the time (the accused) and I commenced our relationship, I was in the midst of a rough break-up that had left me mentally fragile.

“I was suicidal and self-harming, which I confided to (him).

“The next two and a half years was hell.”

“I was 15 and he was 36.”

The South East man made life “hell” for the child he sexually abused for two and a half years. Picture: File

His victim became a “slave” and was forced to cater to his every demand “from the moment he awoke to the moment he went to sleep”,the court has heard.

“Most nights this led me to get little to no sleep - suffering constant sleep deprivation,” she said in her statement.

“I was also looking after his 11-year-old daughter.

“Trying to protect his daughter from seeing and hearing the abuse was hard — sometimes I couldn’t.”

The victim was afraid to talk to her friends and family fearing reprisals from her abuser, the court heard.

She was “isolated from the world” and “very alone”.

“His abuse has left me scared of men — it has caused me to have severe anxiety, depression and PTSD,” she said.

The accused’s defence lawyer, Nick Healy, said a psychological report showed his client “did not meet the diagnostic criteria for paedophilia”.

“His continued lack of insight as well as his minimal victim empathy are attitudes that remain a concern,” Mr Healy said.

Mr Healy said the accused had a number of drug and alcohol disorders and an anti-personality disorder.

“His current sexual and violent offences are underpinned by his anti-social personality traits, which predispose him towards irresponsible and callous conduct,” he said.

Judge Rauf Soulio said it “doesn’t bode well” after hearing the accused had a blatant disregard for social rules and could respond aggressively “with or without provocation”.

The man was remanded in custody and will return to court later this month where prosecutor Stephanie Moore will give further submissions before he is sentenced.