Man pleads guilty to raft of historic child sex abuse crimes against daughter

A man who sexually abused his daughter for years could spend the rest of his life behind bars, as his victim outlined the harrowing impacts of his actions.

The man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his daughter over a period of years in the 1990s.

A woman who was sexually abused for years by her father has faced her abuser in court, as he admitted to his “grave and abhorrent” crimes.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, fronted the County Court at Geelong this week via videolink from prison, having earlier pleaded guilty to more than a dozen historical sexual abuse charges.

The man was in his 40s at the time of the offending, which took place in the 1990s, while his victim was aged in her teens.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Moore outlined 12 separate incidents of abuse spanning multiple years, including numerous occurrences of sexual touching and digital penetration.

The Geelong Advertiser has chosen not to publish details of the offending due to its graphic nature.

The victim reported the abuse to the police in 2023, sparking an investigation and the Otway region man’s arrest.

Mr Moore told the court the man made “limited admissions” to the abuse in a recorded phone call between himself and the victim.

However, he then denied the offending and initially fought the criminal proceedings.

In a powerful and harrowing victim impact statement she read to the court, the victim described the devastating consequences her father’s actions had on her.

She described the loss of her innocence and childhood, and how she “turned into a person who was scared to be alone”.

“I was stressed and scared and I couldn’t speak up,” she said, citing fears she wouldn’t be believed and the impact speaking out would have on her family.

As a result of staying silent, her mental health deteriorated throughout her teenager years.

The court heard she still suffered debilitating symptoms, including physical ailments, night terrors, crushing anxiety and severe PTSD.

She described vivid flashbacks that felt “so real”: “I can hear your voice, I can smell your breath. I can physically feel you in my room,” she said.

Now married, she told the court she had struggled in relationships, often finding herself crying and showering, feeling “dirty (and) sick”.

She told her father she was made to “keep your dirty little secret, even though I was taught not to lie”.

Coming forward about the abuse was scary, she said, but it was worth it.

“I finally feel like I can start letting go,” she told the court, even if it had “pushed (her) past anything I could have imagined”.

For three decades she had bottled up negative feelings, not even verbalising what happened until she went to the police.

Now, having heard her abuser say “guilty” fourteen times as the charges were read out, she hoped she can truly move on and live a healthy life.

The man’s lawyer, barrister Moya O’Brien, made several submissions on the man’s behalf, with discussion centring on the man’s age, history and physical and mental health.

However, it was conceded the man will spend a long time behind bars.

“He will spend many of his remaining years in custody, maybe all,” Judge Gerard Mullaly said.

The man will be sentenced at a later date.

Originally published as Man pleads guilty to raft of historic child sex abuse crimes against daughter