A 55-year-old South Australian man will face a non-parole period of 18 months in prison for raping his underage step-daughter over a two-year period.
The man — who can't be named for legal reasons — pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault and unlawful sexual intercourse by a person of authority after his arrest in September 2019.
Appearing in the Adelaide District Court for sentencing today, the court heard he began assaulting the victim when she was 15-years-old, which was followed by a period of "escalated grooming" over the next nine months.
Judge Liesl Kudelka read a statement from the victim, who appeared in court via video link.
"Her trust has been shaken and she continues to be affected by your conduct," she said.
The victim's statement said she "felt controlled" by her abuser, and was fearful of the consequences if she spoke out against him.
The court also heard there were occasions when the girl tried to say "no" but that her stepfather got angry with her, and told her the abuse was "their little secret."
Today, the man entered the courtroom slouched and avoided eye contact with the victim's family, who audibly cried as the judge detailed an occasion when the man sexually assaulted the victim when she was 17-years-old.
The court also heard the psychological impact of the abuse drove the girl to write a suicide letter to her mother and stepfather when she was 17-years-old.
Sentence reduced due to early guilty plea
The man was arrested in September 2019 after the victim's siblings reported finding sexually explicit text messages from their stepfather to their sister.
The court heard police then recovered social media messages from September 2016 and August 2019 between the pair, which "strongly confirmed his sexual interest in her".
After his arrest in 2019, the man pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault and unlawful sexual intercourse by a person of authority.
Judge Kudelka sentenced the man to three years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months.
It's a sentence reduction of 25 per cent, which the judge said took into account the man's early guilty plea.
Judge Kudelka told the court that the guilty plea gave her "certainty" and was "recognition that she [the victim] was telling the truth".
'Low risk' of reoffending
The court heard statements from the man's doctors that suggested he was not a paedophile, and was unlikely to reoffend.
Judge Kudelka read a statement from one doctor that said "there is no evidence to suggest ... he is genuinely sexually attracted to children".
Another doctor said the man had been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder prior to the offending.
The doctor suggested he "had very good prospects of rehabilitation" and was "a low risk for sexual reoffending".
Judge Kudelka stated the doctor had found the man's "shame, guilt and remorse are working pathways in sustaining behavioural change".
