Prison over sex assault on daughter

A MAN who sexually assaulted his 11-year-old daughter and took pornographic photographs of her has been jailed.

The man, 33, who cannot be named, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Hobart yesterday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of producing child exploitation material, one count of possessing child exploitation material and two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Acting Justice David Porter said the first three counts related to the man’s daughter, and one of the counts of aggravated sexual assault related to an unidentified girl, estimated to be aged between 10 and 13 years.

Acting Justice Porter said the man took five pornographic photos of his daughter and sexually assaulted her on one night in February 2016.

He said the girl told police she was staying at her father’s home that night, had no recollection of the photographs being taken and did not consent.

Acting Justice Porter said it could be inferred the girl was asleep.

In a victim impact statement to the court, the girl said she now finds it hard to trust people.

“She feels totally betrayed by the defendant. She does not want to see him or his family again,” Acting Justice Porter said.

The girl’s mother told the court in a victim impact statement that her daughter had changed from being a happy and fun-loving child to being anxious and untrusting.

“The sexual assault of the girls ought to be viewed in a very serious light,” Acting Justice Porter said.

He said the child exploitation material was not at the higher end of seriousness and the man did not distribute it.

But he said there was always a risk such material could fall into the wrong hands.

“It retains the evil nature of child pornography in general,” Acting Justice Porter said.

“Child abuse must strongly condemned.”

He said the man purported to be “devastated by what he’s done”.

Acting Justice Porter sentenced the man to 20 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 10 months.

He also ordered the man’s name be placed on the sex offender register for five years.

After the sentence was announced, a woman in the back of the court said, “It’s not enough but it’s a start”. be