Central QLD grandfather jailed for grooming, indecent treatment of child

A retired transport worker repeatedly asked his granddaughter 60 years his junior for sexual acts and touched her inappropriately will spend most of 2024 in prison.

A retired transport worker repeatedly asked his granddaughter 60 years his junior for sexual acts and touched her inappropriately will spend most of 2024 in prison.

The grandfather, who can not be named for legal reasons, had been living with the victim and her family at the time of the offences, Rockhampton District Court heard earlier this month.

Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence said there was persistence in the man’s offending where he asked the child for oral sex and called her back into the room to “discuss it a second time”.

Judge Michael Burnett said the man, in his 70s, was discussing oral sex with the child because she “didn’t understand the concept of oral sex”.

“She was about 60 years your junior,” he said.

“She was plainly at a delicate age at the time of the offending... the offending would have have a marked impact on her development and no doubt scar her for many, many years.”

The court heard the man’s offending included enticing her to sit on his lap after she had forgotten about prior inappropriate sexual touching.

Defence barrister Maree Willey said her client, who had worked as a welder and transport worker before a workplace accident forced him into quitting work early, had plans to relocated to live with friends upon his release from prison.

The Central Queensland man was found guilty of four counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 and one of grooming a child.

Judge Burnett sentenced him to 15 months prison, suspended after serving eight months with an operational period of 3.5 years.

He is now a reportable sex offender.