Man found guilty over child sexual assault in Dubbo region

Disturbing details of a serial child sex abuser’s shocking attack on a 12-year-old girl who was sleeping at an isolated property in western NSW have been revealed in court.

A 58-year-old man with a history of sexually abusing children continues to maintain his innocence despite a jury returning more guilty verdicts, a court has heard.

Police charged the man with two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child without consent and one count of attempting to do the same thing after a 12-year-old girl made a report in July 2019.

The man cannot be identified for legal reasons. Picture: NSW Police

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty and a trial was held in the District Court at Dubbo in 2020.

A jury found him guilty and he appeared in court on Monday for a sentencing hearing.

Crown prosecutor Mark Davies told the court the man had been entrusted by the child’s mother, to take care of her daughter.

“The offender took advantage of the vulnerability of the victim, the trust and authority placed in him, for his own sexual gratification,” Mr Davies said.

“The offending began when the victim was asleep.”

The court heard the child woke to find the man had put his hand down her pants.

“He left his hand on the outside of her genitals, but underneath her clothing, for about five minutes,” Mr Davies said

The court was told the man inserted his finger into two different parts of the child’s body before he attempted to have anal sex with her.

“It’s a significant intrusion into the child’s body,” Mr Davies said.

“Child sex offences have a profound and deleterious effect on victims for many years.”

The court heard the man attacked the child inside an old home at an isolated property in the Dubbo region that had no electricity and was described as being a “haunting” environment for the child.

Defence barrister Philip Swaine told the court the man had a record of previous convictions and was recently sentenced in another court to a five-and-a-half year prison term for having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14.

Mr Swaine said the man did not accept the jury’s verdict.

“There was no violence or threats of violence or circumstances of humiliation,” Mr Swaine said.

“There’s no evidence of ejaculation.”

The man appeared in Dubbo District Court on Monday. Picture: Ryan Young

Mr Swaine said the duration of the acts of sexual intercourse was unknown, though they appeared to be short in length and were not premeditated.

Mr Davies told the court in an interview with a psychologist, the man had referred to the age of consent as a “great big grey area”.

The man had claimed that the child made up his crimes and was encouraged to do so by her mother, Mr Davies said.

“That flies in the face of the jury verdict but also the strength of the Crown case,” he said.

Judge Nanette Williams said the child was in an especially vulnerable position because the crimes happened in a remote area where there was little help available to her.

“She’s out in the middle of nowhere effectively with no one able to come to her aid,” Judge Williams told the court.

“She was effectively a very long way from help.”

The case was adjourned to March 25, 2022 when Judge Williams will sentence the man.

He remains remanded in custody.