Dalby District Court: Stepdad jailed after being found guilty of sexually abusing young stepdaughters

A Dalby stepfather who was found guilty of sexually violating his daughters across several years has been jailed for the disturbing torment. Warning: Distressing

DRUG DRIVING: Driver is on his last chance according to the Dalby Magistrate.

A Dalby man who was found guilty of maintaining a sexual relationship with his stepdaughter and sexually abusing her and her sister while they were in his care, has been jailed for the “life-destroying” torment he imposed on his victims.

Dalby District Court was told the man, who cannot be named to protect the victims’ identities, performed sex acts on one girl from when she was just four years old, and her older sister between the ages of eight and 12.

A jury of 12 people found the man guilty on seven charges which included one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 12, five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 under his care, and one count of indecent treatment of a child under 16.

He was sentenced to five years jail.

During his trial last week the jury heard evidence that on separate occasions between 2009 and 2017 while the man was living with his wife and her three daughters, he sexually abused them.

A diary entry from the youngest daughter, who was his main victim, was read aloud in court.

“(The man) was my step dad since I was two, I’d wake up to him rubbing my back and soon I’d wake up to him rubbing my (genitalia),” the entry said.

“I didn’t feel comfortable sleeping next to him, but because I was scared of the dark (and) I would get my dog to sleep with me.

“I knew no matter what, I wasn’t safe.”

The court was told the man sat the youngest daughter on his lap while in the car one day where he touched her inappropriately.

During another instance, the youngest daughter woke up to the Dalby man abusing her and when she told him to go away, he ran back to the room he shared with his wife.

The man also kissed another daughter’s neck before she ran away to tell her sister, and touched her inappropriately.

Over the two-and-a-half-day trial before Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren, the jury heard recorded evidence from the two victims, as well as investigating officers involved in the case, friends and other family members of the victims.

The mother of the girls supported her husband in court and also gave evidence where she claimed her youngest daughter had not made a complaint about her husband.

Defence barrister Frank Martin suggested during the trial the girls had “colluded” against the man, as they didn’t want him to be involved with their mother.

Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir told the jury they could “comfortably” push the theory “to the side” while deliberating their verdict.

“To put it simply, the offending has destroyed the lives of the two daughters,” he said.

The seven-man, five-woman jury, found the man guilty of all charges, which included one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 12, five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 under his care, and one count of indecent treatment of a child under 16.

After the jury handed down their verdict, the mother of the two girls walked into the courtroom crying hysterically.

Originally published as Dalby District Court: Stepdad jailed after being found guilty of sexually abusing young stepdaughters