An uncle who sexually abused his two child nieces exploited the young pair's vulnerabilities from a "position of trust and power", a court has found.
"Because of what I have been through, I have thought about dying every day," one victim told her perpetrator when he reached out decades after indecently assaulting her.
The former member of the Royal Australian Air Force, now aged in his 70s, is not named to protect the identity of his victims.
He was sentenced to at least six months behind bars earlier this year after admitting two counts of indecent assault.
Documents tendered during the man's August sentencing, but only acquired by The Canberra Times this week, reveal his predatory actions when the victims were under the age of 13.
Without warning, he molested one victim in her family home and commented on the maturity of her body as she froze.
The man tried to digitally rape the second victim, who was several years younger at the time of the offending, on the couch of his home.
He only stopped when the child said she was in pain.
The uncle reached out to both victims years later and is said to have tried apologising for "touching you when you were little".
The man sent the second victim $20,000 to "compensate" her, which she reluctantly accepted, in conduct described by the court as self-serving.
"If you want to call the police now, they can come and get me. I'll admit to them," he said at the time, noting he did not want his immediate family to find out.
In an interview with police earlier this year, the offender said he recalled both incidents and provided details similar to that of his two victims.
While Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker accepted the man's remorse as genuine, a pre-sentence report author found he had displayed limited insight into his crimes.
"He commented that at the time he thought it was 'just a bit of a fun thing' and said it was not until much later that he realised it was not a good idea," the author wrote.
When the author asked the man why he gave one victim money, he responded "it was just an apology, however, he also assumed at the time that she would not go to the police".
The uncle failed to acknowledge any emotional, mental or developmental effects his actions could have had on his nieces.
Ms Walker ultimately sentenced the man to time behind bars, in punishment she deemed appropriate to condemn his actions, for general deterrence and to recognise the harm done to the victims.
But she noted he "poses no significant future risk to the community".
The man, who has no relevant criminal history, received a total jail sentence of two years and is set to be eligible for parole in February.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732; Bravehearts 1800 272 831; Blue Knot Foundation 1300 657 380.
