A woman who survived years of persistent child sexual abuse perpetrated by her father has "bravely" confronted the man in open court.
"Today is the day I can breathe," the woman said on Tuesday through tears before her abuser and several supporters.
"The person who was meant to protect me from monsters my whole life became the monster."
The 43-year-old offender, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, wore a black face mask as he was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court to seven years and six months in jail.
He previously pleaded guilty to maintaining a sexual relationship with a child.
The wording of the charge was recently changed in the ACT to "persistent sexual abuse of a child", following the advocacy of 2021 Australian of the Year Grace Tame.
He will be eligible for parole in four years and two months.
Court documents outline how the man sexually abused his daughter on a weekly basis in his home for more than two years between 2016 and 2018, while he was in a shared parenting agreement.
The young victim was 13, 14 and 15 years old at the time.
"The offences are serious breaches of the criminal law and they are abhorrent," prosecutor Trent Hickey said.
"It is difficult to contemplate a more complete breach of trust."
While many elect others to read their victim impact statements, the young woman took the witness stand to read her words while facing her father.
"Today is the day I can stand here and say how I'm feeling without being manipulated or threatened by you. You've ruined my life," she said.
"I'm stronger now and I'm proud of myself for doing this and being here."
The woman described the abuser's actions as "selfish, disgusting, low life, putrid, revolting".
"You were never a father. You were never a role model," she said.
"You weren't even a good person. You are an abuser."
The victim stopped visiting her father in 2018 when the "offending looks like it's about to escalate" and told her family in 2021.
Made aware of this, the man attended a police station in December of that year to "tell his side of the story", which included minimising his responsibility for the abusive acts and claiming they were not regular.
"There was nothing that bad ... Just to let you know, there was no raping," he told police.
The man even told officers he had tried to stop the sexual abuse on occasions but that he had re-commenced at the child's request.
The court heard the offender later told a pre-sentence report author he did not know why he'd committed the crimes.
Mr Hickey said this behaviour was an attempt to "save face" by not admitting to a sexual attraction to children.
"Yes, I have heard that before where people don't want to discuss those intricate details so they say they don't know," the pre-sentence report author said on Tuesday.
Mr Hickey said the court should be particularly sceptical of the father's claim he was behaving "inexplicably", with the prosecutor stating the man's intent was clearly for "selfish, sexual gratification".
"He had designs on her and treated her like a girlfriend," Mr Hickey said.
The man had, on several occasions, told his daughter he considered her to be his girlfriend and that "you can't cheat on me", while telling her she couldn't date.
Defence lawyer Edward Chen said his client was "genuinely remorseful" and if more offenders complied with authorities like the man had, "more victims would come forward and engage with the criminal justice system".
The court heard that while the man was a "horrendous father", he was a "loving and loyal son".
The lawyer asked the judge to impose a sentence which included a particularly long period of supervision, so the offender could engage at length with sex offender programs in and out of custody.
Justice David Mossop described the offending as a "gross abuse of the parental relationship", which had been defined by "manipulative and controlling behaviour".
"He knew his conduct was wrong at the time," the judge said.
The victim was visibly emotional throughout Justice Mossop's sentencing remarks, while the offender never looked towards the public gallery.
The man had previously spent zero days in custody relating to the offending.
He will be eligible for release in September 2027.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
