Darryl Nicholson: Swan Hill paedophile sentenced for 1970s rapes

A northwest Victorian man has been sentenced over a vile sex act involving a child under the age of 14 during the 1970s.

A man in Victoria’s northwest has been given a suspended sentence for indecently assaulting and raping a child over a seven-year period in the 1970s.

A man in Victoria’s northwest has been jailed after he indecently indecently assaulted a child over a seven-year period in the 1970s.

Woorinen South man Darryl Nicholson, 65, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to charges of indecent assault and buggery of a person under 14 dating back to the 1970s in the Mildura County Court.

Nicholson’s assaults began on his victim when he was 14 and his victim was five.

But the attacks lasted years. They came to light in 2019 when his victim made statements to police.

Nicholson’s victim told the court he had a loving carefree childhood that was ripped away from him.

“The mindset I had to adopt still impacts my life to this day,” he said.

“I’ve lived a life where I have isolated myself from people because I’m different, I hold a dark secret.

“The biggest thing is that I’ve always felt shameful and dirty. These feelings have never really subsided.

“I have an issue with people calling this a historical crime, because myself, my children and my family are still living the repercussions every day.”

Nicholson’s victim told the court that he had reached a point in his life where he could no longer carry the secret.

“I want you to know that your shallow words of an apology will never be accepted,” he said.

Judge Michael O’Connell sentenced him to three years jail with two years being suspended.

“The sentencing will not and cannot repair the damage done. Revenge is not the job of sentencing,” Judge O’Connell told Nicholson‘s victim.

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