Maryborough court hears of sick abuse against three sisters

A depraved stepfather preyed on three young sisters while their mother was at work, including instances where he sexually abused the girls in front of each other. WARNING: Disturbing content

Three young sisters were subjected to years of depraved sexual offending, a court has heard, including instances where they saw each other being abused and one incident in which one was raped after being threatened with a knife.

Three young sisters were subjected to years of depraved sexual offending, a court has heard, including instances where they saw each other being abused and one incident in which one was raped after being threatened with a knife.

The 46-year-old stepfather of the three girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, this week pleaded guilty to four counts of maintaining a relationship with a child and two counts of rape when he faced Maryborough District Court.

Crown prosecutor Chris Cook told the court the man had been in a relationship with the mother of the three girls.

She was a shift worker and she had trusted him to care for the girls while she was working, he said.

The sexual abuse happened on a regular basis while the man was alone with the three girls, Mr Cook said.

On multiple occasions, the young girls were abused in front of each other.

On one occasion when one of the girls became upset, the man told her: “oh f--- off you sook. If you ever tell your mum, I’ll kill you”.

Mr Cook said the offending happened over the course of a decade, with a gap of about five years in the middle when the man and the mother of the three girls broke up.

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The offending included occasions of penile rape and digital rape.

On one occasion on a boat, he had intercourse with one sister while digitally penetrating another, Mr Cook said.

“The offending was happening against constant protests,” he said.

The penile rapes had caused fear of pregnancy, Mr Cook heard, while the man had told one of the girls it “didn’t matter if they had sex because he is their stepfather and they didn’t share blood”.

On one occasion, he had told one of the girls to stand up and take her pants off.

When she refused, he threatened to kill her then went into the kitchen and got a butcher’s knife, which he held to her throat.

The girl started crying before he took her into the bedroom and raped her, Mr Cook said.

Mr Cook said the man was motivated by his own “sick desires”.

“It was his job to look after them, not to molest and rape,” he said.

The court heard the offending came to light after one of the girls disclosed she had also been raped by the man’s brother.

The man had two children of his own, although his daughter had stopped speaking to him when he was charged with the offences, the court heard.

The 46-year-old stepfather, who cannot be named for legal reasons, this week pleaded guilty to four counts of maintaining a relationship with a child and multiple counts of rape when he faced Maryborough District Court.

He suffered from general anxiety and depression and had issues with gout and arthritis.

Judge Ian Dearden asked the man if there was anything he would like to say to the court.

The man said he was sorry for everything he had done but then asked if his name could be kept off Facebook and social media.

Mr Dearden said he had no control over that.

Mr Dearden then read from the victim impact statements written by the three girls.

One of the girls said her life would “never be the same again or even close to normal”.

She said she would never regain what he had stolen and destroyed.

Another wrote: “I wish I was a normal kid doing what normal kids do”.

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A depraved stepfather preyed on three young sisters while their mother was at work, including instances where he sexually abused the girls in front of each other.

“But no, I was a kid doing what grown ups do.”

Mr Dearden said one of the extraordinary things about each of the victim impact statements was that each of the girls and their mother blamed themselves for the offending.

“But of course they aren’t to blame,” he told the man.

“You are the person directly to blame.”

He said every child was precious and deserved to be cared for and supported.

But as soon as he had the opportunity, the man had abused and misused the relationship, Mr Dearden said.

The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was classified as a serious violent offender, meaning he would have to serve 80 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

The 84 days he had spent in pre-sentence custody was declared as time served.

Originally published as Maryborough court hears of sick abuse against three sisters