Logan man sentenced for years of sexual abuse against daughter, stepdaughter

A woman who endured eight years of “disgusting” and “despicable” sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather, starting when she was just seven, has shared the heartbreaking impact his actions have had on her life. WARNING: Distressing

A Logan man bribed his stepdaughter to engage in “disgusting” and “despicable” sexual acts with him over a period of eight years, a court has heard.

The man, who is aged in his late 50s and cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, held his head in his hands as Crown prosecutor Alex Vanenn described the details of his offending in Beenleigh District Court on Friday, July 29.

He pleaded guilty to maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, maintaining an unlawful relationship with his own child, rape, and indecent treatment of his own child.

Mr Vanenn told the court the man was aged between 37 and 45 years when he maintained a relationship with his stepdaughter, then aged between seven and 14 years.

He said the offending happened frequently over a period of eight years and included many occasions of him attempting sexual intercourse.

The court heard the man would often offend on Friday and Saturday nights, encouraging his stepdaughter’s mother to go to the pub so he could be alone with her.

He promised the child gifts such as fast food in exchange for her compliance and told her she owed him after he convinced her mother to purchase a puppy.

The young girl ran away from her family home in her teens and couch-surfed for some time, travelling from town to town.

Mr Vanenn read a statement provided by the victim which explained the longstanding effects the man’s offending had on her life.

“I live my life every day in fear,” the woman wrote.

“You stole my ability to trust and feel secure. I still feel broken, embarrassed, ashamed, dirty, tainted, and self-conscious.

“I look in the mirror every day and still feel like I’m not a human being. Deep down, all I can see myself as is damaged goods, destroyed by what you did to me.”

She wrote that the man’s abuse stole her childhood, teenage years, and adulthood from her and she expected she would continue to face a “lifetime of suffering”.

The court heard the man began offending against his own daughter after his stepdaughter left home, continuing to maintain a relationship with her for four years when she was aged six to nine.

Mr Vanenn stressed that the man was in a position of power and trust when he committed the “heinous” offences.

Defence barrister Debra Wardle raised that the man had desisted offending against his biological daughter for a “long period of time” and that while he had made promises to encourage his victim’s compliance, he made no threats of harm.

She also asked Judge Craig Chowdhury to consider the man’s pleas of guilty were early, he admitted his involvement in the offending “from the outset”, and he had displayed some level of insight into his crimes as he indicated he was “disgusted with himself”.

The court heard he could not explain why he committed the offences before the court, but he was of below-average intelligence.

Mr Chowdhury said one particular act the man had his stepdaughter carry out on him was “one of the most appalling things I’ve seen”.

He called his behaviour “disgusting” and “despicable”, demonstrating a “shocking breach of trust”.

“For god’s sake, go and get some help,” Mr Chowdhury told the man.

Mr Chowdhury noted the “extraordinary” damage the man had caused by his offending, the “heartbreaking” statements provided to the court by his victims, his pleas of guilty, and the gravity and nature of his crimes when deciding an appropriate penalty.

The man was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Mr Chowdhury declared the 528 days he had spent in presentence custody time already served under the sentence.