Man took teen stepson on work trip before raping him

AT one point, the perpetrator claimed to have no recollection of the harrowing incident.

He will be in prison until at least December 2024. Picture: kaspiic

A MAN who raped his stepson in a motel room will remain in prison until at least December 2024.

The Northern Rivers man, who cannot be named, faced Lismore District Court for sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to four charges relating to the sexual abuse of the 15-year-old boy.

These included aggravated sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, aggravated sexual intercourse with a child and inciting an act of indecency.

The court heard he took his then-stepson away on a work-related trip in July of 2013.

In their motel room, the man's behaviour escalated from inappropriate touching of the boy's genitals, including with his mouth, to raping him for several minutes and threatening him not to tell anyone.

His stepson disclosed the incident to his mother after their relationship broke down years later and the man was arrested in March 2018.

The court heard the man had made admissions in a recorded conversation with the boy, but later denied the offending in a police interview.

One report tendered to the court said he claimed to have "no recollection" of the incidents. He also claimed at one point he had also been abused as a child, but this claim went untested as he did not give evidence and was therefore not cross-examined.

Judge Mark Williams said documents before him told of the man's "stable and unremarkable" early life, although he was now managing a mental illness.

Judge Williams said the hefty maximum penalties for his crimes, which exceeded 10 years, reflected "grave concern" for offences of sexual abuse on children.

"Those (abusers) who stand in a position of trust with children must be severely punished," he said.

He accepted a victim impact statement, read in closed court on behalf of the victim, as a true account of the harm he'd experienced.

He sentenced the man to nine years' prison with a six year non-parole period, backdated to December last year.