Daniel Briffa fronts court over sexually penetrating a 14-year-old

A Melbourne sex fiend who once sparked a 45-day manhunt after escaping from a Victoria prison impregnated a 14-year-old girl after plying her with drugs.

Daniel Briffa has been sent to jail for having sex and impregnating a 14-year-old girl who was in state care.

A former prison escapee who plied a 14-year-old girl with drugs before he sexually assualted her and got her pregnant, forcing her to have an abortion, has been jailed for more than eight years.

Daniel Briffa, 51, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and appeared for sentencing in the County Court on Monday.

He was jailed for eight years and six months and will have to serve five years and six months before he’s eligible for parole.

Judge Gerard Mullaly said Briffa took advantage of the victim who was under state care and gave her drugs before having sex with her on a number of occasions in Melbourne in 2018.

Briffa met the victim through a mutual friend and fellow drug user and first had sex with her after picking her up from a train station and driving her to a bush location, Judge Mullaly said.

After she discovered she was pregnant Briffa again had sex with her before she had an abortion.

Daniel Briffa pleaded guilty in the County Court to three charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

Judge Mullay said Briffa blatantly lied to police when he said he didn’t know her when the matter came to light.

However, in 2019, the victim decided not to proceed with any complaint and the charges were then discontinued until the following year when she changed her mind.

“There was a significant age difference. You were a 45-year-old adult and she was a vulnerable and troubled 14-15-year-old,” the judge said.

“You exploited her addiction and desire for drugs. Your pathway to having sex with this child is very concerning, harmful and exploitative in the context of supplying drugs.

“The laws you broke have been established to protect children, sometimes from themselves. “The fact that the victim became pregnant at age 15 and underwent an abortion is a significantly aggravating feature.

“You well knew what you were doing was wrong. Only years of imprisonment, even on a plea, must be imposed.”

Briffa sparked a 45-day manhunt in September last year when he escaped from the low security Langi Kal Kal prison in Central Victoria where he had been serving a sentence for theft-drug and traffic-related offences.

He was found in a home in East Ballarat on October 19 and was sentenced to an additional three months in jail for escaping from lawful custody.