District court: Rockhampton region man jailed for raping and maintaining sexual relationship with underage sister

**WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT** A Rockhampton region teenager was forced to flee her family home after being sexually abused by her older brother on and off over seven years. Now, he’s facing a lengthy stint in jail.

The teen girl was abused from the age of 10.

A young man who sexually abused his young sister on and off over seven years while they lived in the family home, told police he did it because he was ‘bored and horny’.

The offences were revealed when their mother asked the underage victim why she wouldn’t move back into the family’s home in the Rockhampton region after she moved out to escape the abuse.

The offender, who had pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, one of maintaining a sexual relationship, four indecent treatment of a child, one carnal knowledge and one obstruct police in April, was sentenced for his shocking crimes in early August.

The reason for the delay was because the offender’s barrister requested assessment of his cognitive abilities after it was revealed the man had sustained head trauma as a toddler, had suffered seizures ever since and was “slower than the other kids” his age.

The facts of the man’s offending were revealed in court during the sentencing proceedings in August. He cannot be named to protect the identity of his child victim.

Crown prosecutor Maryam Yousufzai said the first offence against the victim child took place when she was 10 and was woken by the defendant, then aged 15, who was rubbing her thigh as she slept on the bottom of a bunk bed.

She said the defendant moved on top of the child and raped her.

Ms Yousufzai said despite her crying, the defendant then forced her to perform oral sex.

She said that weeks later the child confronted her brother about the rape and he told her no one would believe her.

It would be about three years before the defendant, they aged 18-20, engaged in regular sexual activities with his sister, who was then aged 13-15, over a two year and nine month period.

Ms Yousufzai said the defendant would regularly expose himself, carry out simulated sex almost weekly which progressed to other sexual acts and more frequently – every two or three days.

She said during one incident, he was rubbing her thigh when she pushed him to the ground and told him he was disgusting.

Ms Yousufzai said he also raped the victim two more times during the maintaining period, with the defendant telling police he didn’t think he needed consent.

She said no protection was used in any of the offending incidents with the defendant exposing his sister to sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.

“The offending only ceased when the victim moved out of the family home and it affected her that much that she was unable to return to the family home,” she said.

“The offences came to light when she had to explain that to her mother.”

Ms Yousufzai said that when confronted by his mother about the abuse, the defendant stabbed himself in the stomach with a kitchen knife.

She said the defendant told police he was “bored and horny at the time”.

Ms Yousufzai said a specialist had a provisional diagnosis for the defendant of paedophilic tendencies and there was concern of future reoffending if certain factors were in his life outside of prison – alcohol, unstable accommodation, boredom, loneliness and ineffective coping mechanisms.

She said the defendant had blamed intoxication – alcohol and marijuana – and viewing pornography at the same time for his abuse of his sister for a long time, which showed a lack of insight into his offending.

Ms Yousufzai said due to the frequency of the offending, it was unlikely he was intoxicated on every occasion.

She said the doctor did not find the defendant presenting with serious mental health or intellectual disability.

“His overall cognitive capacity is within the low to moderate range,” Ms Yousufzai said.

“He did not consider his relationship with his sister and her age as reasons not to offend.”

She said the defendant admitted he was sexually attracted to the victim.

Defence barrister Maree Willey said her client was willing to address the factors identified.

Judge Jeff Clarke said the defendant’s offending was appalling conduct, using his “biological sister for (his) sexual gratification”.

“(His) sexual deprivation of her involved almost every sexual act and involved some of the most serious,” he said.

“The presentence report tells me (the defendant) expressed appropriate feelings of guilt, anger and self disgust and also anxiety.”

Judge Clarke said the defendant told a specialist his offending started because he wanted to replicate what he’d seen in online adult pornography.

“(He) admitted (he) effectively targeted (his) younger sister, who (he) understood and viewed as being easier to manipulate and to comply with (his) sexual corruption of her,” Judge Clarke said.

He said the presentence report also stated there was a “degree of psychological and physical coercion” in the defendant’s “chronic pattern of sexually abusive behaviours”.

Judge Clarke said the defendant had been deemed by specialists to have a moderate to high risk of reoffending.

He sentenced the defendant to seven years prison, declared 126 days presentence custody as time served and set parole eligibility for March 31, 2024.