A former cop who tried to encourage a 14-year-old girl to move to France with him so they could be together will walk free from jail within a year.
Mario Didulica, 51, was jailed for a minimum of 16 months on Friday after being found guilty by a Victorian jury of twice sexually abusing a child under 16.
The case took 13 years to be resolved, after delays caused by police and prosecutors.
Didulica was working as a police officer when he met the girl in 2009 and began texting her after helping with a security issue at her work.
At a party in November of that year, the girl was angry at her parents when Didulica approached her and gave her a passport application.
He said they could move to France where it was legal for them to be together and promised to take care of her.
Their relationship developed from there and Didulica had sex with the underage girl twice.
They exchanged more than 30,000 texts and he provided her mobile phones and sim cards, encouraging her to delete their messages.
Didulica told her if anyone found out about their relationship he would have to quit Victoria Police and things would be worse for him in jail.
He gave her a further two passport applications to encourage her to move away with him.
At one point, he proposed to her by text and gave her a ring, which she threw in the Barwon River.
Despite the offending being reported to police in 2010, Didulica was not arrested until he was living in Europe eight years later.
He had left the force and was following his son's soccer career overseas.
Police had told him, in May 2011, he would not hear from them again but the investigation slowly continued.
Australian authorities put out two INTERPOL red notices for his capture and he was arrested in October 2018 while crossing the border between Croatia and Bosnia.
Didulica was thrown into a Bosnian jail for 99 days, which has been described as one of the world's worst prisons.
There he experienced persistent violence after inmates became aware he was an ex-cop charged with child sexual offences through media reports.
He was extradited to Victoria and granted bail in January 2019 but his court case faced further delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
County Court Judge Liz Gaynor said Didulica had faced extra punishment due to his stint in the Bosnian prison and the lengthy delays in finalising his case.
"You have got undergone uniquely severe extra-curial punishment, that is punishment outside this court, and may suffer the psychological effects of it for much of your life," she said.
She handed him a prison term "significantly less than would otherwise be the case" of up to three years.
He has already served six months and must spend 16 months in prison before he can apply for parole.
Didulica will be registered as a sex offender for life.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
