'Lifetime of pain': Man sentenced over abuse of child relative

CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to child sex abuse.

A man’s abuse of a male relative was “opportunistic” offending that relied on “insidious” manipulation and left a “lifetime of pain”, a court has heard.

A now-71-year-old man, who Region cannot name for legal reasons, faced the ACT Supreme Court for sentencing on Tuesday (10 December) over offending in the 1990s.

Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen said the offending represented a “great breach of trust”, with the man having “held a position as a trusted male relative” and knowing the victim from a young age.

The two are not biologically related.

While the victim was “someone who made appropriate concessions and was careful to give accurate evidence”, the offender’s account was given less credibility by the court.

One of the abuse incidents occurred sometime between August and October 1991, when the offender took the victim on a camping trip.

During the trip, the victim woke one night to the offender indecently assaulting him.

The man disputed that he had brought alcohol, some of which the child drank.

Acting Justice Christensen found the alcohol was present, though it was not used for the “intention of inebriating the victim for the purposes of committing the offence”.

She said that sharing the alcohol was “something of significance that the victim would recall”.

Following the offending, the victim felt “scared and confused”, Acting Justice Christensen said.

The other charges relate to offending in February 1992, when the victim and his family travelled to Canberra to stay at the offender’s family home.

On that occasion, the victim went to sleep alone before waking to the offender assaulting him. He would then rape the victim.

While the man took part in a police interview during which he denied raping the victim, Acting Justice Christensen said the claim was a “bit far-fetched” and “largely at odds with the agreed facts”.

“The victim’s account was both honest and reliable,” she said.

Among the disputed facts was the allegation the 71-year-old man had told the victim to not tell anyone about the abuse.

While he was driving them back from the camping trip, the man “said words to the effect the victim should keep it [the abuse] to himself” and that it was a “pretty normal” event. He would then tell the victim to not say anything after the incident at his home.

Acting Justice Christensen again found against the man.

In sentencing the man, Acting Justice Christensen said she accepted the prosecution’s submission that a period of full-time imprisonment was necessary, though health issues would see him “experience hardships in the custodial setting”.

She said she “cannot ignore” the man’s comments that he had also been sexually assaulted as a child, though described his attempts to normalise that behaviour to the victim as “insidious” manipulation.

She also gave him a minimal discount for his guilty plea, reduced because of the offender’s decision to dispute several elements of the allegations.

“[He] plainly reconstructed or – as the prosecution submitted – narrated a false reality,” she said.

The man was sentenced to a total of four years and seven months’ imprisonment, which will be suspended in 2026, after 18 months.

He will then be subject to a good behaviour order until March 2029.

If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.