Geoffrey Stevens escapes prison for sickening child sex abuse of young girl

A Mildura grub who exposed himself and performed a sex act in front of a nine-year-old caused his victim years of despair, a court has heard.

Geoffrey Stevens, 72, fronted Mildura Magistrates’ Court on November 27 to be sentenced over child sex abuse charges.

The victim of sickening child sex abuse says she lay awake at night in “despair” as an adult before realising she is a survivor.

The offender, Geoffrey Stevens, 72, fronted Mildura Magistrates’ Court on November 27 to be sentenced for performing an indecent act in front of a child under 16 after the court found him guilty in October.

The retired winery manager was sentenced to serve a suspended sentence lasting 18 months for his vile offending, giving justice to his victim almost three decades on.

The court heard Stevens had taken the then-nine-year-old into the spare bedroom of his home, before taking out his penis and masturbating in front of her.

Stevens told her “not to tell anyone. It’s our secret”.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the victim said she didn’t realise she was a “survivor of child sex abuse” until a Google search gave her the definition when she was 28 years old.

In a victim impact statement read out to court, the victim said the offending had left her feeling “shame, anger and resentment.”

“I had long known what happened to me was wrong and held onto the secret along with the shame, anger and resentment,” the court heard.

“Because there was no physical contact or rape, I didn’t have a name for it.”

“I never left my sister alone.”

The victim told her family about the abuse when she was 34

“After finding out he still had contact with young children I called the police,” the court heard.

“I still find it hard to talk about without crying. It is a scab that opens up whenever I read or hear about other people’s experiences.”

The court heard Magistrates Michael Coghlan characterise the offending as a “gross breach of trust”.

Despite the sickening abuse she experienced, the victim said she had “created a beautiful life.”

Magistrate Michael Coghlan said the offending was a “gross breach of trust”.

“It’s quite clear from her evidence that the offending has had a very significant impact on her,” he said.

Mr Coghlan sentenced Stevens to an 18 months suspended sentence and he will be registered on the sex offenders registry for the next eight years.