Baulkham Hills father charged with sexual abuse of daughter

A woman confronted her 72-year-old father in a secretly recorded conversation about the ‘predatory’ and ‘despicable’ sexual abuse she allegedly suffered at his hands for 14 years when she was a child, a court has heard.

A father has been refused bail after he was arrested over the alleged historic sexual abuse of his daughter for 14 years. Generic picture

A daughter confronted her 72-year-old father and secretly recorded alleged admissions about the sexual abuse he inflicted on her for 14 years when she was a child, a court has heard.

A Baulkham Hills man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the woman, appeared in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday where a magistrate described the allegations as ‘despicable.’

The elderly man is facing 11 charges of sexual abuse of his daughter dating back to between 1974 and 1988.

The father was arrested on Friday and appeared in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

Documents tendered to court allege the man committed the acts of indecency and sexual assault at Rooty Hill, Whalan and Tregear.

The police prosecutor submitted the case against the man was “very strong” after investigators had obtained a warrant for the man’s daughter to secretly record a conversation asking about the allegations earlier this month.

He said the woman remembered the alleged abuse “in detail” and could provide context of what she was doing at the time of the assaults.

The court heard the man allegedly said “I was predatory,” and “I’m not making excuses, it never should have happened” before apologising.

The police statement of facts said the woman asked her father about a specific incident that allegedly occurred one morning in their family home.

The man was allegedly recorded saying, “I never should have done that, I couldn’t control myself, it is a weakness”.

The father also allegedly said, “I’m not saying I’m the only one who does it. It is something in the DNA or nature of males that allows this to happen.”

The police prosecutor told the court the father was in a “position of power and control at the time the victim was a child”.

The woman claimed her father abused her 14 years in the family home. Generic picture

He submitted if the man was convicted of the charges he would be sentenced to full time custody.

The man’s lawyer Karina Diec said she was instructed her client only made “generalised” admissions to the allegations during the recorded conversation.

She said the man would be a vulnerable person in custody given his age, adding he needed to attend skin cancer check-up appointments but otherwise had no other serious health issues.

Ms Diec said the man only had one other matter on his criminal record that was unrelated and dated back to 2001.

The court heard he was a truck driver for most of his life and retired in 2015.

Ms Diec said her client needed to be at liberty to prepare his defence case and given the “sensitive” nature of the allegations she submitted that would be difficult while in custody.

She also noted this would be his first time in jail.

Ms Diec proposed a number of bail conditions including residence and reporting conditions, noting he could comply with an apprehended violence order put in place.

Magistrate Michael Stoddart labelled the allegations as “despicable”, adding a father abusing his child was of the “utmost seriousness”.

He agreed there was a strong prosecution case and refused to grant bail.

The man will appear in Mt Druitt Local Court on Monday.