Cairns man Keith William Marshall, 62, sentenced in court for rape of 12-year-old girl

The child repeatedly told the 62-year-old to stop, that it hurt, and repeatedly said no – to which he responded, ‘don’t you mean yes’.

Keith Marshall laughed at his victim after he raped her.

Disturbing details of how Keith William Marshall raped a 12-year-old girl emerged as the man was sentenced in court.

The 62-year-old man was found guilty of rape and indecent treatment of a child under 16 in Cairns District Court on Monday after a six-day trial where the complainant was cross-examined in front of the 12-person jury.

He was sentenced to four years jail on Tuesday.

In sentencing, the court found that the 12-year-old expressly said no and tried to move away as he digitally raped her.

The 12-year-old raped by Earlville resident Keith Marshall told him “no” and that it hurt, but the 62-year-old continued to abuse her (file photo).

The court found Mr Marshall twice asked her if the child liked it, to which she replied “no” on both occasions and Mr Marshall replied, “Don’t you mean yes?”

He then proceeded to hold her down as she tried to move away.

In her testimony to the court, the child said she complained to Mr Marshall of pain during the incident but he ignored her.

After the rape, the court heard Mr Marshall laughed at her.

He then slapped her on the bottom and asked: “Is that what your mother does to you?”

Following that, he told her not to tell anyone because he “wanted to do more things” to the girl – causing the child to feel “very scared”.

The court heard in the years leading up to the events, he had been “touchy” with the girl since she was eight years old; he would often kiss and lick her ears, hold her hand, and sit her on his lap.

Marshall, who plead not guilty, was described as “brazen” and “emotionally manipulative” by the judge in her sentencing decision.

“There was trust and a relationship built up so he could commit those offences against her,” Crown Prosecutor Rachel Boivin told the court.

The girl, who was at a sleepover at a friend’s house when the incident occurred on May 1, 2020, has since started self-harming and is “angry and anti-social” since the abuse, according to her mother’s victim statement read to the court by Ms Boivin.

“She was happy, athletic, committed, friendly, loved school, worked hard, and trusted everyone.”

“She is now no longer recognisable as the person she was before this crime,” the statement said.

“She will never be the same.”

Judge Fantin told Mr Marshall the child “kept telling you to stop and you just kept on doing it. You kept on saying ‘you know I love you’”.

She described the actions as “exploitative,” “forceful”, “brazen,” and “emotionally manipulative.”

“The child continues to suffer adverse psychological and emotional impacts from your conduct,” she said.

Mr Marshall was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison with a parole date set after two years of the sentence.

Originally published as Cairns man Keith William Marshall, 62, sentenced in court for rape of 12-year-old girl