Vietnam War veteran from South-East makes home detention bid for vile child sex crimes over health concerns

A Vietnam veteran who returned home to sexually abuse his stepdaughter has been confronted in court by the family he tore apart.

A Vietnam War veteran who saw unimaginable horrors as a 19-year-old has been confronted by his family about the vile sexual abuse he committed on his stepdaughter, as fresh allegations came to light.

The Mount Gambier District Court heard the 74-year-old South-East man had also allegedly sexually abused the sister of the girl he had abused in the shower.

Earlier this month the man, who has not been identified to protect his victim, was found guilty of one count of sexual abuse of a child.

No charges have been laid over the new allegations.

During the trial, the court heard he had conditioned the girl to think his abuse, which often occurred in the shower, was normal.

Prosecutor Gregory Dudzinski said the man would often guide the victim’s hand to his penis while he urinated — with the victim recalling her stepdad urinating on her and it travelling down her left leg.

A Vietnam War veteran from the South-East is hoping to serve his sentence for vile child sex crimes on home detention. Picture: Arj Ganesan

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

Several victim impact statements from the man’s family were read to the court.

His victim said the appalling abuse she endured had left her struggling with self-harm for more than a decade.

“You made me feel like my body has never been my own — that from a young age, it was the property of someone else,” she said.

“No amount of therapy will ever erase the images of the vile things you’ve done from my head.”

The woman blasted the man for robbing her of a childhood and putting everyone through a through a “horrible” trial, forcing them to relive their trauma.

“You didn’t get away with it — we didn’t forget — you do have to pay,” she said.

Her sister, who was also allegedly abused, said growing up her stepdad had been “untouchable”.

“Being assaulted both physically and sexually is the most demoralising, humiliating thing that can happen,” she said.

The woman said nobody could understand the “kind of power and control you had” and that she lived with the constant question of why she did not “do or say anything”.

Their mother, who the court previously heard had suffered domestic violence, said she lived with incredible guilt for not protecting them.

“It is only now that the girls can start talking about what happened to them that I’m realising the true horrors that happened right under my nose,” she said.

The man has not been charged over the alleged acts of domestic violence or the alleged sexual abuse against the victim’s sister.

His defence lawyer Nick Healy said the war veteran “no longer presents an appreciable risk to the community”.

Mr Healy said the man suffers several health conditions, including dementia and hoped his client could serve his sentence on home detention.

During his 12-month tour, the South-East man saw his best friend’s head “removed” by heavy sniper fire.

He also had to help deliver a baby, removing the umbilical cord with a bayonet after the mother was shot in the chest during labour.

Judge Geraldine Davison questioned whether he would be able to serve his sentence on home detention, but said she would keep an “open mind”.

The man will reappear in the Mount Gambier District Court in September and was allowed to walk out of the courthouse on continuing bail.