Guilty on all counts: Former Eyre Peninsula bakery owner and ex-wife guilty of abusing teen staff

A former Eyre Peninsula bakery owner and his ex-wife have been found guilty of abusing underage girls in his employment.

An ex-Eyre Peninsula bakery owner – who fathered three children with three different women within seven months – and his former wife have been found guilty of grooming two young girls into their sex “cult” in the 1980s.

On Friday, the jury comprised of four men and seven women reached a unanimous verdict of guilty across all charges after deliberating for just over two hours.

The man was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault, four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of sexual abuse of a child dating back to the 1980s. The woman was found guilty of four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of sexual abuse of a child.

Prosecutor Lisa Dunlop said the offending in the 1980s consisted of two young teen girls – one aged 15 and the other under 17 – being groomed by the man before he brought them into his family home and made them pseudo members of his family.

The offending, which one of the victim’s brothers referred to as a “cult-like” situation, resulted in the man having three children with three women in only seven months – though it’s unclear how old the two girls were at the time.

“In fact, in about the space of seven months, (the male accused) had three different children by the three different women that were living in his house,” Ms Dunlop said in her opening address.

As the jury foreman announced the verdict, the man wavered where he stood, but he and his former wife remained unemotional and stone-faced.

After the court was adjourned, one woman could be seen sharing a long embrace with Ms Dunlop after an emotional 22-day trial.

Carrie Demertzis, defence counsel for the woman, and Sally Burgess, defence counsel for the man, maintained throughout the trial the sexual relationships with both teenagers did not start until they were 17. “There is no dispute that there was a sexual relationship between the female accused and the victim at some point,” Ms Demertzis said in her closing statement. “It’s entirely possible given the passage of time that (the victim) is wrong about the progression.”

Earlier this week, during the cross examination of the man, a recorded phone call between him and one of his victims, after she had left the “cult” in the early 2000’s was played for the jury. During this call he was heard cursing at her and stating that she was 16, not 15, when the offending occured.

He also claimed that he had walked in on his father having sex with one of the victims, and that he did not believe the child she had fallen pregnant with during his offending was his.

The male accused was also found guilty of the indecent assault of an 18-year-old girl who worked at his bakery during the same time period.

The man and women were remanded in custody, with the matter adjourned to March for sentencing submissions.