Port Augusta father jailed for abusing three-year-old daughter and pet dog for years

First, his brave daughter revealed what he’d been doing to her at night – then police finally checked his phone.

A Port Augusta father of two has been jailed for the “distressing” abuse he subjected his daughter to. Picture: file generic

A Port Augusta father will spend at least eight years behind bars for abusing his oldest daughter and the family dog while his wife cared for their new baby.

The man – whose identity cannot be published to protect his victim – hung his head throughout the entire hearing as Auxiliary Judge Gordon Barrett sentenced him for his “distressing” abuse.

“You breached the trust of your daughter and family by offending against your daughter when she was very young, and you did so for an extensive time,” His Honour said.

The court heard the man – aged in his 40s – started abusing his daughter at the age of three after taking over the task of putting her to bed each night after the birth of the new baby.

Judge Barrett said the offending occurred over a period of three years and was disclosed to her mother twice – despite the man giving her “distressing” warnings to keep silent.

He appeared via video link in the District Court of South Australia for sentencing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

The court heard the offending was disclosed to police in 2021 by the man’s wife, but the victim was able to make an official statement only after police conducted investigations into the man’s possession of child exploitation material in 2023.

Judge Barrett said the man’s wife had described the “extensive consequences” of his offending, and left his daughter with feelings of jealousy “when she sees friends with safe fathers”.

The court heard the man had “bragged” online to an undercover police officer about the sexually explicit acts he had subjected the victim to.

The man was arrested in November 2023 following the man sharing explicit child exploitation material and conversations online that included images and videos of children as young as two years old.

Judge Barrett said an image was also discovered of the man committing bestiality against the family pet.

During investigations, the court heard the man refused to provide the pin code to his phone – despite a court order.

The man pleaded guilty to one count of sexually abusing a child, committing bestiality, knowingly possessing child exploitation material, failing to provide access to electronic data and four counts of disseminating child exploitation material.

The court heard the man had no prior criminal history, and had an unremarkable childhood in the state’s north.

Counsel for the man previously submitted that he began consuming pornography in his 20s prior to seeking more “depraved” material – but was “willing” to participate in rehabilitation programs.

Judge Barrett sentenced the man to 13 years and 25 day accumulative for all of the offences.

His Honour ordered that the man serve eight years non-parole and the sentence was back dated to his arrest in November 8, 2023.

Originally published as Port Augusta father jailed for abusing three-year-old daughter and pet dog for years