Man sentenced for raping seven-year-old girl at Point Cook daycare

A man in his mid-40s has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a seven-year-old girl at his wife’s daycare business run out of their Point Cook family home. WARNING: Graphic Content.

A man has been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl at a Point Cook daycare.

A man has been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl being looked after at his wife’s daycare business run out of their Point Cook family home.

The offender, who cannot be named, was sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison for the “abhorrent” abuse, which took place between February 2021 and August 2022.

The man, aged in his mid-40s, repeatedly sexually assaulted the little girl in the lounge room during the day when she attended the family daycare after school and on weekends.

She later told police she felt “scared” and “tricked” by the man who would “ask if she liked it and had a weird smile”.

The girl, who now suffers nightmares and insists on having a camera in her room for safety, had been attending the home since she was two-years-old.

The sickening assaults came to light in November 2022 when she complained to her older sister of having pain in her genital area and was taken to the doctor the next day where she revealed details of the abuse.

The girl was then referred to the Royal Children’s Hospital and Victoria Police was contacted.

Detectives located a CCTV camera in the lounge room of the home but no recordings from the period of offending had been kept.

A Department of Education spokesman confirmed family daycare at the residence was banned to prevent further risks to children’s safety. Picture: Supplied

A Department of Education spokesman confirmed family daycare at the residence was banned to prevent further risks to children’s safety.

“The measures remain in place,” he said.

It’s unclear if this ban came into effect before or after the horrific abuse which took place.

The recent developments prompted Victoria’s early childhood regulator to open a new investigation into the Point Cook centre.

It’s also not known if the abuser had a working with children’s check, how many other children the centre cared for and if their parents have been notified.

Residents in family day care aged over 18 are required to be fit and proper people to be in the company of children, and are required to have a Working with Children Check.

The victim’s mother said she now lives in a constant state of guilt and internal pain.

“I blame myself for what happened … The anxiety, the helplessness, the fear that I failed her is like running a marathon I never signed up for. And it never ends,” she told the court.

The girl is afraid of the dark and has nightmares and difficulties at school.

The sickening assaults took place at a Point Cook family daycare. Picture: Supplied

“These are not things a child should ever have to worry about or fear,” the mum added.

The now 50-year-old offender, who emigrated to Australia from the Philippines in 2002, denied the charges.

“Child sex offending is particularly grave,” Judge Harper said.

“You breached the trust of your victim and her family and led her to believe your wife knew of the offending so it was alright.

“your offending was opportunistic, committed on occasions where your wife was not in the vicinity.”

She added: “Your victim was only seven years of age. Your actions were abhorrent and as conceded by your counsel, the offending was humiliating, demeaning and objectifying.”

He was sentenced to a minimum of nine years and nine months in prison, will be required to do a sex offenders treatment program and be placed on the sex offenders register for the remainder of his life.

Originally published as Man sentenced for raping seven-year-old girl at Point Cook daycare