Man, 44, sentenced in Darwin for decades-old rape, child sexual abuse material offences

A man could be walking from prison in just under a decade, despite being convicted of a crime one of the victims says ‘broke part of her childhood’. DISTRESSING CONTENT WARNING.

Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin, NT. Picture: Zizi Averill

A convicted rapist with ties to Central Australia will be eligible for parole in just under a decade, a judge has ruled when sentencing him for crimes one of the victims says “broke part of her childhood”.

The 44 year old – who this masthead is not naming to protect the victims – was sentenced to 14 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on four charges, but Supreme Court Acting Justice Trevor Riley gave him a non-parole period of nine years and 10 months.

The jury found the man guilty of showing a child an indecent film, attempting to record an indecent image of a child, of having digital-vaginal sexual intercourse without consent, and having penile-vaginal sexual intercourse without consent.

The maximum penalty for having sexual intercourse without consent is life in prison.

NT Supreme Court Acting Justice Trevor Riley. Picture: NT Courts

The man was found guilty April 4, sentenced on April 14, but the court heard his offending had taken place more than a decade ago – between January 2011 and December 2014, and involved two children, the court heard.

During the time of the offending, one of his victims was about eight-years-old, while the other was about 10-years-old, the court heard.

The court heard the victims were the man’s then-partner’s nieces.

Both victims were sisters, with the man trying to film the eldest with his phone while she was showering at her grandmother’s, Acting Justice Riley told the court.

She found the phone, told her aunty, but the man denied it. Afterwards, the man’s relationship with the aunty “subsequently ceased,” Acting Justice Riley said.

With the younger sister, the man entered her room while she was sleeping, held her down and put his hand over her mouth, and “digitally penetrated her vagina, causing her significant pain,” Acting Justice Riley said.

Another time, the man took the younger sister to the bathroom, where he bent her over and “had penile-vaginal sexual intercourse with her against her will,” Acting Justice Riley said.

Darwin Supreme Court. Picture: Jason Walls

“She was trying to fight back, and at one point she slipped and fell. She was crying out, saying, ‘it hurts,’ but you told her that she would ‘get used to it’.”

Other people were home at the time, and the bathroom door could not be locked, the court heard.

An uncle went to use the bathroom, saw what was happening, and punched the man, Acting Justice Riley said.

He also showed the younger sister pornography, telling her if she wanted to get a puppy, she has to “do the things in the video,” Acting Justice Riley said.

The man’s crimes came to light when the younger sister was in school, where she told the counsellor what had happened, who reported it, the court heard.

Through victim impact statements tendered to the court, the eldest said she is suffering from depression, while the youngest said the man “broke part of her childhood, which she will never get back,” Acting Justice Riley said.

The man was originally indicted on nine charges, but was found not guilty on five of them. Acting Justice Riley did not say what the other charges were when sentencing him.

Acting Justice Riley said during the man’s trial it was “asserted on (his) behalf that nothing had happened in relation to either of the complainants and they were lying”.

“The jury concluded otherwise,” he said.

Larapinta Drive, west of Alice Springs, in Central Australia. The court heard the man had ties to the Red Centre. Picture: Gera Kazakov

The court heard the man was raised in Halls Creek, WA, and holds cultural connections to both Central Australia and WA.

He moved to Darwin in 2013, where he had a daughter with his former partner, Acting Justice Riley said.

He has held numerous jobs, spending his time between Halls Creek and the Territory, the court heard.

Acting Justice Riley said he has prior convictions for firearms and traffic offences, and has “shown no remorse for (his) conduct towards the children”.

“Notwithstanding your failure to accept responsibility for your conduct or to express any remorse, the fact that there has been no further offending of this kind over a significant period of time suggests to me that you are not likely to reoffend in this way again,” Acting Justice Riley told the man when sentencing him.

He will be eligible for parole in 2035.

Help is available for anyone at risk of harm, such as but not limited to 1800 Respect (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14) or 13 YARN (13 92 76).