$120k a year mine guard’s sick offer to see niece naked

A security guard has been told he would not even get a job at McDonald’s after he bought a pack of cigarettes for his 15-year-old niece in exchange for seeing her naked.

A man was sentenced after molesting his 14 year old niece before attempting to seduce her sister to be naked about a year later.

A Mackay security guard has been told he would not even get a job at McDonald’s after he bought a pack of cigarettes for his 15-year-old niece in exchange for seeing her naked.

It came only 12 to 18 months after he sexually assaulted her sister, who was 14 at the time, while they watched a TV show in the comfort of the victim’s family home.

The Mackay man pleaded guilty in the Mackay District Court on July 21 to one count of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 16 and another count of procure to commit indecent treatment of a child under 16.

The first offence took place in Mackay between March and Oct 2021 and involved the man squeezing his niece’s breast for five seconds before the girl got up and locked herself behind her bedroom.

The second offence occurred in October 2023.

The court heard that the man had been working as a security guard at a mine earning a hefty wage of between $110,000 and $120,000 at the time of the offending, and that the man tried to convince his victims nothing had happened on both occasions.

The man bought a pack of cigarettes for his 15-year-old niece in exchange for seeing her naked before telling her it never happened. Photo by Thomas SAMSON / AFP

The offences were reported to police by the sisters’ mother after she was made aware of it following the second offence.

Defence barrister Scott McLennan told the court that his client suffered from an intellectual impairment as well as dyspraxia, a neurological condition which affects a person’s co-ordination skills.

As a result, he attended special education from when he was in grade one up until his year 12 graduation and that bullying had been prominent all throughout his schooling career.

In her submissions, Crown Prosecutor Rana Aldas told the court that despite the defendant’s intellectual capability, the man knew what he was doing was wrong as demonstrated “by the fact he told (the victims) not to tell anyone”.

“He knew what he was doing at the time of the incident and he knew what he was doing was wrong,” she said.

She argued that personal deterrence did feature in the offending and that it involved a great breach of trust between the girls and their uncle.

“It raises that question about a genuine interest perhaps in young girls and a preparedness and desire to act upon it,” she said.

“Importantly, the offending involved a gross breach of trust.

“They were entitled to feel safe.”

Judge Michael Burnett told the court the offending was serious and that his actions were “repugnant”.

The Mackay man was supported by his uncle, aunty and grandmother in court as Judge Burnett laid out his sentence of 6 months suspended sentence in operation of 18 months, and 12 months probation with a conviction recorded.

Originally published as $120k a year mine guard’s sick offer to see niece naked