Riverland father jailed after horrific sex acts with intellectually disabled daughter
A Riverland man has been jailed for having sex with his intellectually disabled adult daughter – with a court then told of his repulsive past. Graphic warning.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Riverland man told his intellectually disabled adult daughter he “loved them as a girlfriend”, then bribed them for sex – while on parole for doing the same thing when they were a child, a court has heard.
The man, who cannot be named to avoid identifying his victim, appeared in the District Court on Tuesday for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to two counts of incest.
Judge Joanne Tracey said he warned his daughter to keep their sexual relationship a secret and made them hide if people came to his house.
His offending, Judge Tracey said, was “manipulative” and betrayed his daughter’s trust “in the most despicable way”.
“You told the victim that you loved them and that they were more than just a daughter,” she said. “You said you loved them as a girlfriend. You told the victim that nothing would part you again and that you could not wait to have them in your bed and make them know how much you love them.
“You described the victim as your girlfriend with you being their boyfriend and said that when you were apart from each other you were their dad.
“Your offending was extremely serious, committed for your own sexual gratification. It was committed against your child who has an intellectual disability who was vulnerable to your expressions of love and interest in their life; you paid them money as a bribe; you insisted on their silence, and came against a background of having offended against them in the most heinous way when they were a very young child.”
The man, 67, was jailed for 14 years in 2010 after pleading guilty to seven sex offences against five different children – one being his daughter, along with his three nieces and a daughter of a family friend.
The court heard he “persistently” abused his daughter when they were as young as five during school holidays. In 2023, the offending began again after the man ran into his daughter at a shop without their disability support worker, a court heard.
“They assumed you were allowed to see them and they now have to live their life knowing that their father did not want a relationship with them other than one that was sexual,” Judge Tracey said.
“Any suggestion that you are remorseful for your actions needs to be tempered against the strength of the evidence and that you actively pursued the victim.
“You preyed on the vulnerability of your intellectually disabled child, and as an adult.
“As their father you should have been there to protect them and instead betrayed their trust in the most despicable way for your own sexual gratification.”
Judge Tracey sentenced the man to eight years and four months jail with a non-parole period of six years and eight months. He will be eligible for parole in 2031.
More Coverage
Originally published as Riverland father jailed after horrific sex acts with intellectually disabled daughter
Top doc’s explosive A-G claim heard in parli committee
Explosive claims of political intimidation of a top doctor, flawed investigations of deaths, refusal to investigate clusters of adverse patient events, and more were made at a parliamentary hearing.
Experts weigh in on tree danger after four injured in two days
Tree experts have warned extreme dry conditions could lead to more fallen limbs, and say special attention must be paid when events are held in parks.