Paedophile Naval officer David Graham has been sentenced

Decorated former naval officer David Graham, now a convicted paedophile for sexually abusing two children, has been sentenced

PAEDOPHILE former naval officer David Graham will stay behind bars until mid-2021 after a jury earlier this month found him guilty of a string of child sex crimes.

Graham, 50, was on Wednesday sentenced to five years jail, to be suspended after two years served, for his “particularly abhorrent” offending.

In a moving victim impact statement, the younger of the victims said Graham’s offending was predatory and had proven devastating despite more than a decade passing.

“The predatory and sexually abusive actions of David Graham have undoubtedly been the cause of the immense emotional and psychological trauma that I have had to bear through my life, and continues today,” the statement said.

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The older victim said Graham’s attempt to rape him at a campsite near Alice

He said the younger victim “idolised” Graham but knew what the then-patrol boat captain was doing to him was wrong.

Justice Graham Hiley said Graham had abused his position of trust as a naval officer and as a friend of the childrens’ parents.

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He said Graham plying his older victim with alcohol made that offending worse and that one of the indecent dealings committed against the younger victim under the same roof as the victim’s parents was “brazen”.

He found Graham’s offending was part of a “course of conduct” which included improper, but uncharged acts such as having the younger child sit on his lap while playing computer games.

Graham vehemently denied his offending, which Justice Hiley said was a sign he had little, if any remorse for what he had done.

He said the younger victim “idolised” Graham but knew what the then-patrol boat captain was doing to him was wrong.

He said Graham plying his older victim with alcohol made that offending worse.

Graham vehemently denied his offending, which Justice Hiley said was a sign he had little, if any remorse for what he had done.