Rapist pimped out wife to watch on live stream

A former White Ribbon ambassador who pimped out his wife, then subjected her to a sickening series of rapes, has been jailed.

Jon Seccull has been jailed for raping and abusing his wife, Michelle Skewes.

A former anti-domestic violence campaigner who subjected his wife to a series of sickening rapes as punishment for her performance after pimping her out so he could watch from a live stream has been jailed for 15 years.

Jon Seccull, 43, will spend at least 10½ years behind bars for what County Court judge Frank Gucciardo described as “vile sadistic acts” and “abhorrent conduct” against the woman he “owed a moral obligation to protect”.

The father of four denied any wrongdoing, but a jury found him guilty of nine counts of rape, two counts of assault and one count of threatening to inflict serious injury.

His victim is his former wife and the mother of his children, Michelle Skewes, who has given permission to be identified.

The court heard how Seccull had “long-held fantasies and cruel desires” and would arrange for his wife to meet other men for sex, having it live-streamed for him to watch.

He would warn her beforehand “not to fall in love” and remind her that she belonged to him.

If she refused, he would punish her.

Jon Seccull was a White Ribbon ambassador and campaigner for organ donation.

But even when she complied, out of fear for her life, he would still punish her.

After she returned home from the first filmed sexual encounter with another man, he angrily dragged her through the house into the bathroom where he pushed her over and urinated on her, calling her a slut and a whore.

He then forced himself on her, telling her if she refused or tried to leave he would show the video to her family.

“This was a brutal, brutish, cowardly rape, encompassing punishment,” Judge Gucciardo said.

“This was a violent assault for your sexual gratification.”

On another occasion, when she returned home after he put her on a plane to have recorded sex with a man in Queensland, he raped her, telling her it was punishment for the live stream being “too nice”.

In a separate incident, when she turned down his sexual advances, he threatened her: “I’m your husband, and I can f---ing touch you whenever I f---ing want. You are mine.”

She was petrified and ran out of the house in her underwear, before locking herself in their caravan.

“Kids, Mum’s left you — she doesn’t love you,” Seccull would yell out to their children, before he smashed his way into the caravan.

He later told her she was “a complete and utter waste of oxygen”, putting a bullet into the chamber of a rifle.

But he then took the bullet out and threw it at her, telling her he wouldn’t waste the cost of ammunition on her.

Seccull with David Koch after starting up a foundation in his son’s name promoting organ donation.

His horrific and degrading offending spanned from 2011 and 2015, with Ms Skewes leaving him in 2016.

From the outside, the couple appeared to be living a normal suburban family life.

The Ballarat community rallied around them when their three-year-old son, Ethan, was clipped by a train and killed metres from their home in 2011.

Seccull worked as a correctional officer in the 17 years to 2016, where he was a prison ambassador for White Ribbon.

Seccull and Ms Skewes on their wedding day. Picture: Noel Hutchins

He also became a high-profile campaigner for organ donation after their son’s death, speaking at events and to media.

But what was happening behind closed doors was, as Judge Gucciardo described, “breathtaking”.

Ms Skewes had met Seccull when she was just 20 years old at a local fire brigade, where they both volunteered.

Her father was a pastor and she and her siblings had grown up in the church. She believed in no sex before marriage but her husband would not respect that.

The pair married three years later in 2003.

But the life she had with her husband was not one she had ever imagined for herself.

He criticised her constantly, saying she was too loud, too fat and needed to look good for him.

He also criticised her for not being sexually adventurous.

Judge Gucciardo said Seccull’s conduct was “gross, repulsive and degrading” and that domestic violence should be met with “stern and just punishment”.

He placed him on the sex offenders register for life.

From Tuesday, victims of domestic violence will have access to a $5000 one-off payment to help them leave violent relationships under a two-year trial by the Morrison Government.

To access payment or for more info, visit UnitingCare Network at unitingvictas.org.au/escaping-violence-payment.

STATEMENT FROM MICHELLE SKEWES ON THE VERDICT

I have not been eagerly waiting for today’s sentencing and have given no energy to any concern that the sentence might not be as severe as it could be. I have to trust the judge and the justice system as it is. All I wish for is that this case will inspire others to acknowledge that they can regain control of their lives and reclaim their dignity.

I welcome the sentencing

handed down today and truly appreciate that the judge has grasped the situation as presented.

However, the fact that Jon was found guilty in the first place is of far greater significance to me, in terms of how it might help other victims in years to come, than the number of years Jon will spend behind bars.

Make no mistake, the road to this point has been an extremely challenging one but it has been worth every painful and humiliating step. I remain dumbfounded by how much acutely personal and embarrassing information I had to present, confirm and reconfirm before the court would accept it as evidence, but the bottom line is that guilt was eventually pronounced and a very dangerous individual has been eliminated as a threat to society, albeit only temporarily.

My advice to others who are in abusive relationships is to accept that they are stronger than they give themselves credit for. To survive abuse, with all it entails, and far beyond what the legal system recognises, takes massive strength and shows you can survive leaving, even if it might not feel like it at the time.

This case has proven that the perpetrator does not require an existing rap sheet and a reputation for malevolence to be proven guilty in a court of law. Gather any support you can and take whatever steps you need to be free of that abuse.

Abusers are clever and deceptive, and I encourage people to reserve judgment and consider giving victims the benefit of the doubt. Abusers very often only abuse their victims, so just because you’ve never seen or experienced ‘another side’ of a person, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

Let’s also put aside our stereotypical and long-held assumptions of what behaviour constitutes abuse and accept that emotional abuse and coercion - simply being repeatedly forced to do things against your will – is as inappropriate and unacceptable as a punch and invariably, a sign of worse things to come.

There is a long way to go before our legal system evolves to best serve victims of domestic violence, abuse, and rape. As things stand, there was no guarantee that Jon Seccull’s name,

despite the criminal nature of the things he did to me, would be added to the Sex Offenders Register.

It’s not a given because the offences were committed against his wife or partner, as opposed to a stranger, and so additional consideration is apparently required to validate this decision.

It proves that there has been only marginal progress since 1984 when it was first recognised that rape can actually be perpetrated in wedlock, but I am delighted that progress is being made and that my case will contribute positively to the application of the law in similar circumstances.

That the judges discretion and summation showed that he (Jon) will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life is such a relief.

I wish every victim the strength to change their circumstances.

You can get through it and you can win in the end.