Former council worker convicted of assaulting stepdaughter

A former council worker tied his disabled stepdaughter to the roof racks of a car and left her hanging, a court has heard.

The man pleaded guilty to three counts of common assault when he appeared before Hervey Bay District Court.

A “cruel” former council worker who tied his disabled stepdaughter to the roof racks of a car and left her hanging in a shed by herself has been sentenced for three counts of common assault.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to the charges when he appeared before Hervey Bay District Court on Monday.

The court heard the charges related to several incidents which happened over a number of years.

The man’s stepdaughter was a teenager at the time of the first incident, the court was told.

During that incident, he tied her hands to the roof racks of the car and her feet together with rope and left her there.

She was able to free herself, the court was told.

The second incident happened years later when the girl was in her late teens when the man went into her bedroom and grabbed her legs, pushing them towards her and tried to place his body weight on top of her.

The man pleaded guilty to three counts of common assault when he appeared before Hervey Bay District Court.

The court heard she woke to him trying to lay on top of her, and when she kicked him in the chest and neck, he grabbed her legs in order to lay on top of her.

The following year in a caravan, the man asked her to help him inside the caravan.

When she went inside he pushed her onto the bed, held onto her hands and pinned her down with his body weight, but she was able to escape.

When she later complained to her partner and carer, police became involved, with a statement made to police in 2021.

The man had no prior criminal history, the court heard.

A victim impact statement submitted to the court outlined the offending and the strained relationship between the girl and her mother as her mother had chosen to remain with the stepfather.

The court heard the man previously worked for council for a number of years. His offending was described by his defence as “sporadic”.

Judge Deborah Richards said while the victim was able to free herself following the first offence, “anything could have happened”.

“It seems a very cruel thing to do, to someone so vulnerable, to do that to them,” she said.

In a separate incident, the victim woke up to the man trying to lie on her.

She struggled and was able to get away, Judge Richards said.

In the caravan incident, the victim was pushed down on a bed but was again able to escape.

Judge Richards said the man was preying on a vulnerable person when he had been in a position of trust.

He was sentenced to four months jail, wholly suspended for 18 months.

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Originally published as Former council worker convicted of assaulting stepdaughter