Ipswich grandfather pleads guilty to raping two young girls

A court has heard how three masked figures exacted violent revenge on an Ipswich man, who was convicted today of grossly abusing two young girls – including his own step-granddaughter. DISTRESSING

A court has heard how three masked figures extracted violent revenge on an Ipswich man, who was convicted today of grossly abusing two young girls – including his own step-granddaughter. Generic image.

An Ipswich man grossly abused two young girls in a disgusting act of selfishness, that a court heard he had already paid a costly price for.

The man, in his 50s, pleaded guilty on October 12, 2023, to two counts of rape.

On October 13, Ipswich District Court heard the man had digitally raped two pre-pubescent girls on the same occasion in 2022.

The court heard the youngest girl was aged just six at the time, and the older girl aged nine.

One of the girls was his step-granddaughter.

Crown prosecutor Alex Baker said both girls had felt pain, although it wasn’t alleged they were injured in any way.

She noted the man had told one of the girls not to tell anyone.

The court heard the man denied his offending when first interviewed by police.

But he had been assaulted by three masked individuals after the allegations arose, Judge Dennis Lynch noted.

“It’s not acceptable that members of the community take matters into their own hands and extract some level of revenge in retaliation,” he said.

Judge Lynch said the man was taken to hospital but not seriously injured.

He said he would take it into account as an element of extra-curial punishment the man had suffered for his offending.

Defence barrister Scott Neaves said his client had no similar criminal history.

He did have some history of drug abuse and had been fined in recent years for property offences, Mr Neaves noted.

The man had lost his job of 17 years during the pandemic, and also suffered a significant personal loss around the same time, the court heard.

Judge Lynch said the man’s history suggested the offending was out of character.

“It seems consistent with what I’ve been told about your personal circumstances, that there was really a spiralling out of control of your life – to a degree at least,” he said.

“These offences are serious offences, preying upon innocent young children.

“They were very young and vulnerable, and you took advantage of each of them for your own selfish sexual gratification.”

Judge Lynch noted in the man’s favour, however, that his guilty plea had saved the children from having to give evidence.

The man was sentenced to four years imprisonment, with 296 days of presentence custody declared time-served.

He will be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence in custody, on April 20, 2024.

Originally published as Ipswich grandfather pleads guilty to raping two young girls