Father jailed after raping and sexually assaulting 10 of son’s friends

Eight years after his arrest, a father has been jailed for raping, assaulting, and indecently treating 11 boys – 10 of whom were friends of his son’s.

An IT worker who sexually assaulted 10 of his son’s friends over 4.5 years has claimed he believed he had their consent, despite the fact they were teenagers and he was nearly 40 years their senior.

A 59-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in Ipswich District Court on March 21, after pleading guilty to 20 charges including rape, sexual assault, and indecent treatment of children.

The court heard he was aged 47 to 52 when he offended against 11 boys – 10 of whom were friends with his son – between 2010 and 2014.

The children and teenagers he sexually assaulted were 12 to 18 years old.

Crown prosecutor Amanda Robinson said the most serious offending committed by the man was anal and oral rape, with most incidences occurring within his own home when his son had a friend visit or stay over.

The son was described as being a “conduit” for his father’s criminality, unbeknown to him.

She told the court one of the young boys woke up in the man’s house to find him touching him, another felt him grabbing his bottom before he punched him and ran to another house, and another had to push the man’s hand away.

The 59-year-old met the only victim who was unknown to his son while he was exercising.

The court heard the man saw a 15-year-old boy at a bridge in bushland, stopped him, and touched him through a hole in his shorts.

Two of his other teenage victims were homeless and were staying with their friend, the man’s son, at their house when they were assaulted by father.

The matter before the court on Monday took about four years to proceed to a committal hearing and another four years to reach the point of sentencing.

The 59-year-old was charged in August 2014, after two of his victims reported the assaults, and spent just five days in custody before he was released on bail.

Defence counsel Timothy Ryan said his client’s pleas of guilty were “accompanied by remorse”, noting also that nine of the 20 charges before the court were at the “lower end” of the ‘seriousness’ spectrum.

Mr Ryan said he had not stayed in touch with any of his victims, his offending was opportunistic, and he had not used violence or drugs to overcome his victims’ resistance.

“It’s agreed between the parties that the defendant’s to be sentenced on the basis that he honestly believed that each of the complainants was consenting to the conduct in which he engaged,” Mr Ryan told the court.

He acknowledged this belief was clearly “mistaken and not a reasonable one”.

The man was charged after sexually abusing 11 teenage boys between 2010 and 2014. Picture: AAP IMAGE / Robert Pozo

In the eight years following his arrest, the man is not alleged to have reoffended or breached his bail conditions, which Mr Ryan said signalled his time in custody had been a type of “circuit breaker”.

“Unlike recidivist offenders whose sexual offending is established and well demonstrated by previous convictions, the offending in this case … represents a relatively small period of this man’s adult life,” he said.

Mr Ryan told the court his client was the ninth of eleven children and his teenage years were “troubled” due to his parents’ disapproval of his sexuality.

“His parents, he says, struggled to come to grips with his sexuality, did not accept it and sent him to undergo some psychological treatment to … ‘correct’, as he expresses, his orientation,” he said.

Mr Ryan said he eventually married a woman, thinking it would make his father happy, who he had three children with.

The court heard the 59-year-old’s marriage ended and their son moved into his father’s home.

One of the man’s daughters attended court on Monday in support of her father; as did his partner.

Addressing the court, the father-of-three apologised for his actions.

“I apologise to my victims for my behaviour, for the pain and suffering it’s caused them, their families, and their partners,” he said.

Judge Ian Dearden said the impact the man’s actions had and would continue to have was “profoundly sad” for both him and his victims.

“Every one of us is a precious human being, you included,” Mr Dearden told the man.

“Every one of us … has an entitlement to make our own decisions about our sexuality, our expression of it, and it should be something that is special …

“When an adult offends against a child – and all but one of these complainants was a child of various ages – that adult takes away the right of that child to make their own decisions about their own expression of their sexuality.”

He said he took an “appalling advantage” of the 11 boys he offended against, but it was the predatory and repetitive nature of his “sad, distressing, disgraceful” and “despicable” conduct that was its most exacerbating and aggravating feature.

The man was sentenced to 9.5 years’ imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date of December 16, 2025.

Following the court proceedings, family members of one of the victims approached the man who sat inside the courtroom dock.

“You’re a mongrel,” a woman cried.

“Don’t say sorry to him. Don’t ever say sorry.”

A man told him his victims were “scarred for life” as a result of his actions.

“F--cking scum, mate,” a second man shouted.