Paul Anthony Gregory pleads guilty to vile sex abuse

The parents of a victim of a vile child abuser have made a gut-wrenching victim impact statement in which they have revealed the horror they endured. WARNING: Distressing content

A 68-year-old Mackay man described the moment he molested a girl as a “moment of madness”, as the devastating impact of his vile crime is revealed in a heartbreaking victim impact statement.

Paul Anthony Gregory put his head in his hands as his victim’s father described the “stain on our family that each of us will have to live with for the rest of our lives”.

The vile sexual abuse occurred in April 2022.

Crown prosecutor Michelle Parfitt said Gregory exposed himself to the girl and asked her to masturbate him.

“He told the complainant to ‘get the cream’,” Ms Parfitt said.

“He told the complainant not to tell her mother.”

  pleaded guilty to indecent treatment of a child under 12.

Mackay District Court heard Gregory lifted the child’s clothing and groped her under it.

Gregory was arrested in early May.

He plead guilty to four counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12.

While Gregory had no criminal history, Ms Parfitt said the “very young age” and “very significant age gap” were serious elements of his crime.

A victim impact statement was read out by the girl’s father, who spoke of the “long road” they faced recovering from the incident in counselling.

“Particularly concerning for me is the time and effort that is still required to try and correct their perception on what is wrong and right when it comes to their private parts.”

“In the weeks after (the child) was molested, she had a number of episodes”, he said.

“Where she became extremely distraught, screaming and crying with every ounce of energy she could muster from her tiny body.

“I learned that this was a process young victims sometimes go through in dealing with this kind of trauma.”

Judge Gregory Lynham heard the child’s mother had “broken down in tears countless times” and her father didn’t sleep for three days after they found out about the offending.

Defence barrister Scott McLellan said his client was deeply remorseful about his offending and had attempted suicide before his arrest.

“Mr Gregory had been drinking on the day of the offending,” Mr McLellan said.

Gregory asked permission to speak, apologising profusely for what he described as “a moment of madness”.

“I pray in the future you can please forgive me for what I’ve done,” he said.

He has spent more than four months in protected custody while on remand.

Judge Lynham jailed Gregory for 18 months to be suspended for two years after parole release on November 4.