Dad, 47, faces court for incest with daughter, 20, after Facebook messages

An estranged father and daughter who reconnected over Facebook met twice in Gold Coast hotels after their messages inexplicably turned sexual.

• WATCH: Elderly neighbours fight over social distancing
• ‘It’s not a new issue’: Tackling Coast’s latest crime wave

AN estranged father and daughter who reconnected over Facebook met twice in Gold Coast hotels after their messages inexplicably turned sexual.

The dad, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police he knew it was wrong when the pair engaged in sexual intercourse.

The daughter was 20 while the father was 47 when the incidents occurred in March and April 2019.

The washing machine repairman pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on Monday to two counts of incest.

Judge Geraldine Dann sentenced the dad to 12 months in prison, wholly suspended, and two years probation.

“The offences are serious and it appears that in your own view it should never have happened,” she said.

Ms Dann described the incidents as “brief, totally non-violent, consensual and to some degree instigated by the daughter”.

Crown prosecutor Gary Churchill told the court the father and his daughter were estranged from the time she was five but reconnected via Facebook in early 2019.

The pair confirmed they were father and daughter and the messages soon became sexual.

Mr Churchill said it was not clear who initiated the sexual nature of the messages.

“It is an unclear situation as far as we are aware,” he said.

“There doesn’t seem there is any real manipulation by this defendant.”

Mr Churchill said after the two incidents the daughter sent screenshots of the messages to the man’s sister.

FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $1 A WEEK FOR THE FIRST 12 WEEKS

“The offending was consensual on both sides but she appeared to have been distressed about it,” he said.

“However, she still made plans to meet a second time.”

The court was told the repairman would pick the woman up from Ipswich and then they would travel to the Gold Coast where they booked a hotel.

The court was told the woman was sentenced in Ipswich last year for incest and other unrelated sexual offences to three years in prison.

Defence barrister John McInnes said the dad “knows and knew what he was doing was wrong and behaved impulsively”.

Mr McInnes said the father suffered mental health issues and was undergoing treatment.

The court was told the repairman’s father was in the Army, they travelled a lot and he was bullied as a child.

Follow @leae