Jail for rape of child, 5

Babysitter’s offences described as heinous

IT WAS the worst nightmare for any parents: the man entrusted to babysit their children raped their little girl.

Yesterday a 31-year-old man was jailed for nine years for raping a five-year-old at Innisfail.

“Your offending was persistent, sustained, determined, manipulative and grossly self indulgent all throughout her obvious distress in asking you to stop,” Judge Dean Morzone said.

The Cairns District Court was told he had been drinking with the family and volunteered to look after the girl and her four-year-old brother so their parents could go nightclubbing.

He is a distant relative and the little girl called him uncle.

The court was told he woke the little girl, who had been sleeping next to her brother, and took her into another room in the house.

He committed different types of rape while she cried for him to stop.

She received minor injuries and his DNA was found on her.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald described the offences as “heinous” and a “gross example of sexual offending on a vulnerable child”.

“There is also the concerning feature that he told the complainant not to tell anyone,” Ms Friedewald said.

“He claims to have no memory of these offences.”

He pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of indecent treatment of a child under 12 in October 2016.

“He feels disgusted with himself,” defence barrister James Sheridan said. The man has already spent 549 days in custody.

The court was told he had been under the influence of methylamphetamines at the time. Medical reports tendered to the court said the man was a low to average risk of reoffending.

Ms Friedewald argued for a serious violent offender declaration to be made, meaning the man would have to serve at least 80 per cent of the terms before being eligible for parole.

However, Mr Sheridan argued that the facts were not so uncommon that an SVO was warranted.

Judge Morzone called it “most vile conduct towards a young and vulnerable child” but agreed an SVO wasn’t appropriate.

The man will be eligible for parole after three years. He cannot be named for legal reasons