Rapist stepdad gets jail

A STEPFATHER who sexually assaulted a teenage girl and gave her money to keep silent has been jailed.

The 45- year- old man was sentenced yesterday in Townsville District Court after being found guilty last week of two counts of rape and four counts of indecent treatment against a child under the age of 16 years.

Prosecutor Jodie Crane said the man assaulted his stepdaughter on four separate occasions over a period of several years.

“Clearly the second incident, which is the offending whereby the defendant gave her $ 50 not to tell her mother, is the most serious and that does involve two rape,” she said.

“When the complainant was offended upon she was in a vulnerable position.

“At the time of the second incident she was taken from her bedroom when she was sleeping.”

Ms Crane said the man’s offences had caused a divide within the family.

“There is also an element of manipulation in terms of the counts of bribery particularly in relation to the second incident,” she said. “He’s taken advantage of a young child for his own sexual gratification.”

The court heard the man’s criminal history included domestic violence offences.

Defence barrister Claire Grant said the relationship between the man and the girl’s mother broke down after the offending came to light.

Ms Grant said the man had worked in unskilled jobs and had held roles in services helping indigenous people

“Following charges in this matter being preferred against him, he was unable to apply for a blue card and has been unemployed since the charges were preferred,” she said.

“In terms of his hopes for the future ... upon his ultimate release he hopes to return to the workforce and move on with his life.”

Judge Kerry O’Brien said the only appropriate sentence was imprisonment.

“You’ve shown no remorse for your conduct and that is a matter of concern,” he said.

“You were in a position of some trust in relation to the child.”

The man was sentenced to three- and- a- half years jail and will eligible for parole after serving half of the time in his sentence.