Illawarra dad admits watching on as disabled daughter chained up, taunted
An Illawarra man has admitted to taunting his disabled teen daughter while her wrists were chained together by a mate, after horrific videos of the incident were found on an old iPhone.
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An Illawarra father has admitted to watching on as his mate chained up his cognitively impaired daughter and taunted her, after videos of the horrific incident were found on a mobile phone.
The 43-year-old, who can’t be named to protect the identity of his daughter, was arrested in February, after a second-hand iPhone uncovered videos of him laughing at his teenage daughter, who was chained up with a sheet over her head.
The man faced Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault and one count of intimidation.
In documents tendered to the court, it was revealed the man watched on as his ex-partner’s new boyfriend said “I’m going to get the chains” after the teen “became aggressive” with her older sister.
The girl’s father sat back as his mate then tied the chains around his daughter’s wrists, fastening them with a padlock.
Her sister, who witnessed the entire ordeal, began filming the two men, concerned for her little sister’s safety.
“You better stop doing that because mum’s going to go off,” the girl said in one of the videos. “It’s just not right”.
Details about the horrific incident were reported to police in January, after the older girl sold her phone containing the recordings.
In the first video, documents reveal the young girl’s wrists were bound with chains, with a long piece acting as a leash for the men to hold.
According to the documents, the man can be heard saying “good girl” to his daughter as he stood in front of her, taking the chain.
A sheet can also be seen covering the girl’s head, which her dad soon removed. As the girl’s sister films the incident, documents state she can be heard saying “if you’re watching this, call someone” before her dad says “don’t film me I’m a wanted man”.
In the third, and most confronting, video documents reveal the victim falls to the ground with both her hands chained as her sister yells “oh my god”.
Throughout each of the videos the offender and the second man can be heard laughing and taunting the girl.
After the new owner of the phone reported the matter to police, the man was arrested by the state’s child abuse squad.
In a subsequent interview with police, the man told officers the incident was “more of a joke” and that he “played along” with his mate who liked to taunt the little girl because she has a disability.
The man, who remains on remand in custody, will return to court in October for sentencing.