Court told of abuse spiral Man denies charges

A BURDEKIN man is on trial accused of sexually abusing his stepdaughter when the girl was aged 13 to 17.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty in Townsville District Court to two counts of rape, maintaining a sexual relationship with a child and three counts of indecent treatment of a child.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate told the court the man’s stepdaughter had been a “timid, quiet teenager”. He said the abuse started about February 2010, when the girl was 13, and continued until she was 17.

On the night the alleged abuse began, the girl’s siblings were asleep and her mother was out of the house.

Mr Walklate said the man requested a massage from the girl, then reached behind and touched her genitalia. He said the girl “pushed” his hand away but he moved it back.

“At that point the 13- yearold, timid ( girl), did not know how to make it stop or what to do. In the end she felt the courage to say she was going to bed,” Mr Walklate said.

“She was scared of the control he had over her, as a person who was her father, and she did not sleep that night.”

Mr Walklate told the court the abuse became regular, occurring when the girl’s mother was out and her siblings asleep.

The acts allegedly escalated to digital penetration.

Mr Walklate said the girl began distancing herself from her family when she left school and began a serious relationship. In October 2014, she allegedly became emotional and told her partner that she had been abused.

Mr Walklate said a year later the girl was at a party when the conversation turned to child abuse, and again she became emotional.

“She made herself scarce … ( her partner) followed her, and he asked her what was wrong, and she told him very little detail,” he said. “The next day there was more talk and the recommendation at that stage was that ( the girl) go and talk it through with a psychologist.”

Mr Walklate said she went to a GP and was referred to a psychologist, and the matter was reported to police.

The court was closed yesterday as a video of the girl’s testimony was played to the jury.

The trial continues today.