Incest: Former shopping centre manager jailed for sex abuse
A “serious sexual offender” has been jailed after a jury found him guilty of repeatedly abusing his stepson in the south eastern suburbs — including on the night before he married the boy’s mother.
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A man who repeatedly raped his stepson — including on the night before he married the boy’s mother — has been declared a “serious sexual offender” and sentenced to 15 years’ jail.
A jury found the former supermarket manager, who cannot be named, was guilty of committing 15 charges between 2001 and 2009, with most occurring in the south eastern suburbs.
At the man’s sentencing the County Court heard he began putting the child through “horrific” sexual acts in the same year as he began a relationship with the child’s mother.
Twice the man, now in his 40s, took the eight-year-old to his mother’s house in the south eastern suburbs, where the boy screamed as he was raped, including with sex toys.
The abuse continued when the man moved into a house in a neighbouring suburb with the boy and his mother.
The court heard he would give the boy chocolate and cash in exchange for oral sex.
The abuse stopped when the victim turned 16 and refused any further assaults.
The court heard the boy tried to forgive his stepfather, still spending time with the man after he separated from his mother.
He only told his mother of the assaults in January 2015.
The man was then arrested in April 2015.
He was found guilty by a jury in October 2019, after repeatedly denying the crimes.
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He was declared a “serious sexual offender” by Judge Sarah Dawes on November 22 as she sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 10 years and six months.
“Incest is an appalling crime,” she said.
“The complainant was a vulnerable little boy who looked up to you as a father figure and a role model.
“He was unable to enjoy his childhood and felt that he was simply trying to survive.”
Through a victim impact statement, the victim told the court he wasn’t sure if would ever be “mentally right” after the incidents.
The court heard the man was also sexually abused by his father and older brother when he was a child.
He has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.