A Canberra public servant jailed for sexually abusing a child with physical and mental disabilities claimed he could not have abused her because she was “not even pretty”. Sentencing the man earlier this week for the abuse of two young girls, ACT Supreme Court Justice Michael Elkaim labelled the man’s denigration of one victim, referred to as SN, and her family as “callous”. In denying the allegation related to SN, who was born with a birth defect that resulted in physical and mental disabilities, the man referred to her as “a few sheep short of a paddock”. He furthered his denial by claiming “she is not even pretty”. SN was aged between 12 and 14 years old when she was abused by the man. In October last year a jury found the man guilty of five counts of sexual intercourse with a young person, and one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person. Before he was sentenced, several victim impact statements were supplied to the court by SN and her family. “You have no idea how hard I have worked to create a safe and loving environment for my daughter,” her mother wrote. “A world of promises, trust and confidence. Justice Elkaim described SN’s victim impact statement as a drawing of “a very sad face”. The man was also sentenced for a string of abuse of his then-partner’s daughter when she was aged 10 and 11. He repeatedly tricked her into performing sex acts under the pretence they were playing a game. With regard to that offending, Justice Elkaim said the crimes were “objectively serious, taking into account the complainant’s age and the devious subterfuge employed by the offender to bluff the complainant into playing the game”. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his victims, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. He will be eligible for parole in October 2023.
