Father pleads guilty to ‘abhorrent’ abuse of his daughter, 3, who was placed in his care by Child Protection

Child Protection removed a toddler from her “unstable” mother and placed her with her father – who subjected the girl to some of the most “abhorrent” abuse seen by the courts.

A young child was removed from the care of her “unstable” mother and placed in the care of her severely autistic father – who abused the three-year-old for more than a year, filming and disseminating his “abhorrent” acts online.

District Court Judge Anthony Allen, a former veteran prosecutor and defence barrister before being appointed to the bench, said the offending was among the most serious he had seen.

He described the decision by the Department of Child Protection to place the child with her father as an “opportunity lost with catastrophic consequences”.

The southern suburbs man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, was arrested in November 2021.

He has since pleaded guilty to maintaining an unlawful relationship with the child, as well as multiple counts of producing, disseminating and possessing child exploitation material.

A southern suburbs father has admitted the "abhorrent" abuse of his biological daughter. Picture: Facebook

A prosecutor told the court the man had bragged to people in online chat groups about the abuse he was perpetrating against his daughter, who was aged three years and four months when the offending begun.

Judge Allen noted the man had shown “enthusiasm” in the videos for the abuse.

Emma Shaw, for the man, acknowledged her client’s acts were “abhorrent”, but said there were glimmers of hope for his rehabilitation.

She said the man had acknowledged he was a paedophile as well as the damage he had caused to his daughter as well as the wider community.

“He hates what he has done,” Ms Shaw said.

The man apologised in a two-page letter for not only abusing the child but exposing police, prosecutors and court staff to the deplorable images of the abuse.

It is understood a summary of the abuse was sealed on the court file so a limited number of people would be exposed to its contents.

Ms Shaw said the man had rated extremely high on an autism spectrum disorder test but had been undiagnosed throughout his childhood as he shifted between 10 different schools.

The court heard the man had been bullied in school and suffered “debilitating social anxiety” that left him unable to converse with people or maintain relationships.

He was described by a psychologist as a “grossly inadequate man”.

Despite the deficiency the man had a three-year relationship with a woman that led to the birth of his daughter.

Ms Shaw said the man described the relationship as the “worst three years of his life”.

When the pair separated the department concluded the mother was too much of a risk to care for her child and placed her in the care of her father.

She was deemed “unstable” and noted in court to have used large amounts of cannabis.

A victim impact statement from the child’s new foster mother says the child continues to suffer night terrors and behavioural issues linked to the trauma inflicted by her father.

However, the court heard she was a treasured member of the foster family, described as “smart, joyful and courageous”.

The man will be sentenced later this month.