Babysitter found guilty of sexually abusing young boy
In a nightmare scenario for the single mum of a little boy on the Fraser Coast, the man she trusted to take care of her child while she worked has been found guilty of sexually abusing him many times over the course of a year.
Police & Courts
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A babysitter who sexually abused a young boy when he was trusted to care for the child while his mother worked will spend the next 19 months in jail before being possibly deported.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child when he went on trial in Hervey Bay District Court last week.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced in relation to the charge.
The court heard the abuse happened up to 20 times over a 12-month period when the man was babysitting the boy, who was under 10 years of age at the time.
That involved placing his mouth on the child’s genitalia and having the child reciprocate, the court heard.
The man had immigrated to Australia with his family and it was possible he would be deported upon the completion of his term of imprisonment, the court was told.
He had also been dealt with in 1990 for indecent assault of a child under 16 in another Australian state.
Judge Michael Burnett said he’d had little difficulty accepting the jury’s verdict.
The child’s mother was a single mum who was doing the best she could with “difficult circumstances”, Judge Burnett said, and the offending represented an abuse of trust.
“She gave the child to you to care for the child while she was at work,” Judge Burnett said.
“The offending constituted a significant and egregious breach of trust that had been invested by her in you to do the right thing.
“I have little difficulty accepting the impact that this offending has had upon her and the complainant himself.”
The offending had a significant financial impact on the family as they had needed to relocate.
The man had previously been married and had been a carer for his mother, the court heard.
Judge Burnett said there was no evidence of remorse on the man’s part for the offending.
He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison, with a parole eligibility date set for December 3, 2025.
A presentence custody declaration was made for the three days he had spent in custody waiting to be sentenced.
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