Man moved in with family upon death of his friend, then preyed on his friend’s children

In a horrifying and sickening incident, a man moved into his dead friend’s home and sexually abused his two young children while they were grieving the loss of their father. A judge has now decided when he will be eligible for parole.

A 51-year-old man who preyed on two young children grieving the sudden death of their father and sexually assaulted both has been jailed for five years.

The man, who is not named so as to protect the identity of his victims, was a close friend of the family and moved into their home after the death of the children’s father to help their mother, Toowoomba District Court heard.

However, he then preyed on the two children, a girl aged 10 and her seven-year-old brother, who he repeatedly molested, touching the boy’s penis and having the boy touch his bottom, and digitally raping the girl, the court heard.

He told the girl not to tell anyone or he’d go to jail and she wouldn’t see him again while telling the boy to remain silent or he wouldn’t be able to play his games.

Crown prosecutor Shontelle Petrie told the court the man’s sexual touching of the girl had caused her to bleed and his offending came to light when the girl’s mother noticed blood on her underwear.

The man had spent 15 months in custody since his arrest and on Tuesday pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 in his care and four counts of digital rape.

Ms Petrie said the man had spent up to 12 years in jail in the past for armed robberies and making threats to kill but had no previous sexual offences.

Defence barrister Steve Kissick said the man would reside with his sister in the Logan area once released from prison.

His client had entered early pleas of guilty which had saved the children from having to give evidence, he said.

Judge Vicki Loury said by the children’s mother’s victim impact statement the man’s offending had had a profound impact on the children who now feared being around men and had to be reassured that they were safe to go to school.

“You preyed on these two children in a despicable way,” Judge Loury told the man.

“This family were grieving the loss of a husband and father.

“Our community abhors the sexual abuse of children.”

Declaring 457 days of pre-sentence custody as time served under the sentence, Judge Loury sentenced the man to five years in jail but ordered he be eligible to apply for release on parole as of September 30, 2022, after having served 16 months behind bars.