Sex abuse father pleads guilty but avoids jail
From:
BY Michael Madigan
July 08, 2006
A MAN who sexually molested his daughter 10 times as part of her "sexual education" was spared jail yesterday.
Acting Chief Judge Tony Skoien told a Townsville District Court that jailing the man would only cause more pain to the victim.
He said the offence was the most unusual he had encountered in 25 years.
The man, 36, had pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent dealing with a girl aged under 16 and four more charges of rape by digital penetration. The offences, between April 2004 and June last year when the girl was aged between 11 and 13, came to light when the girl told school authorities.
The court was told the man, from a small north Queensland town, had committed the offences as part of his daughter's sexual education.
The father was immediately removed from the family home and not allowed contact with his daughter.
"All I want is for us to be counselled together so we can be a family again," she said.
Psychological reports tendered to the court found the defendant had an "interesting and unusual" personality but was not a pedophile.
Judge Skoien said the man had made a "grotesque" error while explaining sexual behaviour to the girl. But to imprison him when he was not likely to repeat the offence would only further punish his daughter. He sentenced him to 12 months' jail to be served under an intensive correctional order. He will not go to jail but receive counselling and have limitations on his movements.
"I stress this is one of the most unusual cases I have come across in almost one quarter of a century," Judge Skoien said.
He hoped the "insult" the man had inflicted on the daughter would heal. "And I hope you can pick up your lives together."
Bravehearts, a support group for victims of child sex abuse, said it supported rehabilitation of offenders and understood the trauma of pedophilia offences breaking apart families.
But founder Hetty Johnston said no court could ever accept that a person could attack a child in the name of sex education.
"If ever a judge accepted that as an excuse for an attack he or she should be stood down," Ms Johnston said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19722043-1248,00.html
From:
BY Michael Madigan
July 08, 2006
A MAN who sexually molested his daughter 10 times as part of her "sexual education" was spared jail yesterday.
Acting Chief Judge Tony Skoien told a Townsville District Court that jailing the man would only cause more pain to the victim.
He said the offence was the most unusual he had encountered in 25 years.
The man, 36, had pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent dealing with a girl aged under 16 and four more charges of rape by digital penetration. The offences, between April 2004 and June last year when the girl was aged between 11 and 13, came to light when the girl told school authorities.
The court was told the man, from a small north Queensland town, had committed the offences as part of his daughter's sexual education.
The father was immediately removed from the family home and not allowed contact with his daughter.
"All I want is for us to be counselled together so we can be a family again," she said.
Psychological reports tendered to the court found the defendant had an "interesting and unusual" personality but was not a pedophile.
Judge Skoien said the man had made a "grotesque" error while explaining sexual behaviour to the girl. But to imprison him when he was not likely to repeat the offence would only further punish his daughter. He sentenced him to 12 months' jail to be served under an intensive correctional order. He will not go to jail but receive counselling and have limitations on his movements.
"I stress this is one of the most unusual cases I have come across in almost one quarter of a century," Judge Skoien said.
He hoped the "insult" the man had inflicted on the daughter would heal. "And I hope you can pick up your lives together."
Bravehearts, a support group for victims of child sex abuse, said it supported rehabilitation of offenders and understood the trauma of pedophilia offences breaking apart families.
But founder Hetty Johnston said no court could ever accept that a person could attack a child in the name of sex education.
"If ever a judge accepted that as an excuse for an attack he or she should be stood down," Ms Johnston said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19722043-1248,00.html
