Gympie man pleads guilty to rape, indecent treatment of daughter

A Gympie man who raped his young daughter then tried to stop her going to police by paying her $16,000 has been jailed.

A Gympie father has been jailed after pleading guilty to the rape and indecent treatment of his young daughter.

A Gympie region crane operator who raped his young daughter and then paid her $16,000 to try to make the crime disappear has instead been sent to jail.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty to charges of rape and indecent treatment of a child.

Gympie District Court heard the man and his daughter had been drinking alcohol on the night the offences occurred.

They ended up sleeping in the same bed.

The court was told the man first fondled and sucked on her breasts while she pretended to be asleep, and then digitally raped her while she tried to roll away.

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She then left and walked several kilometres back to her mother’s house where she told her mother what had happened.

The court heard in the wake of the incident the man paid his daughter $16,000, at her request, in an effort to keep the matter out of court.

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A Gympie man was sentenced to three years’ jail after pleading guilty in Gympie District Court to the indecent treatment and rape of his young daughter in 2021.

Defence lawyer Chris Anderson said the man had apologised for his behaviour, recognising “he was drinking too much” and was now “trying to deal with that issue”.

Judge Glen Cash admonished the man during sentencing, saying the payments to his daughter were “really motivated by self interest” and an effort to avoid punishment.

Judge Cash acknowledged the man’s health had taken a turn for the worse since his offending but this did not preclude him from being jailed.

“What you have done is an appalling crime, breaching that trust,” Judge Cash said.

He sentenced the man to three years jail, with the sentence suspended for three years after one year.