Elderly man jailed after jury finds him guilty of vile sexual abuse of stepdaughter in 1980s in Adelaide Hills

An elderly man has been jailed after a jury found him guilty of the vile sexual abuse of his young stepdaughter across two Adelaide Hills towns.

An elderly man has been jailed for more than a decade for the vile, years-long abuse of his young, adopted stepdaughter during “cuddle time” across two Adelaide Hills towns.

The man, who cannot be named to avoid identifying his victim, was found guilty by a District Court jury in March of sexually abusing his young stepdaughter for seven years in the 1980s.

During sentencing, Judge Michael Durrant said the man, 79, first sexually abused the girl in 1980 at the family’s property in a small Adelaide Hills town – and continued until 1987, as the family moved elsewhere in the Hills, abroad and interstate.

He was not charged for the offending outside of SA. The jury found he engaged in two or more unlawful sexual acts with the girl.

“Your offending began when you entered L’s bedroom ... and brought her into your bedroom for ‘cuddle time’ sessions,” Judge Durrant said. “This would occur weekly with some variation, including by pouring water into her underwear to suggest she had wet her pants.

“‘Cuddle time’ progressed to include the removal of her clothes. On more than one occasion during ‘cuddle time’, you were naked.”

Judge Durrant said the man attempted to have sex with her when she was in year seven while her brothers were out working on their family farm and noted other example of sexual abuse.

The court heard the man and his wife – the mother of the victim – still “remain in a relationship”, despite a “short period of estrangement” during his incarceration since trial.

Judge Durrant said the man suffered from “some chronic health conditions” – including heart disease and tremors.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the victim expressed how the offending had “detrimentally affected” the relationship with her mother.

“Your offending has also greatly affected (your victim’s) ability to sleep beyond five or six hours a night,” Judge Durrant said. “She experiences great anxiety still because of the abuse she endured.

“She also struggles to trust men and she feels insecure, leaving her children unsupervised.

“As (her) stepfather, you were in such a position of trust. You were responsible for her care, especially when her mother was out or working shiftwork overnight.”

Judge Durrant sentenced the man to 12 years in jail with a non-parole period of seven years and three months.

The term of imprisonment was backdated to March 18 – the day he was convicted by verdict of the jury and had his bail revoked.

Originally published as Elderly man jailed after jury finds him guilty of vile sexual abuse of stepdaughter in 1980s in Adelaide Hills