South West man behind bars for string of sexual offences on young family members

A South West man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a string a sexual offences carried out against his two young nieces. The 66-year-old, who cannot be named so to protect the identity of his victims, appeared in Perth District Court late last week where he received the lengthy prison term for eight counts of indecent dealing with a child under 13 and two counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13. The offences occurred in six separate incidents over a three-year period between December 2017 and January 2020, when the man stepped in to help a family member babysit the two young girls. The court was told the man on multiple occasions showed the young girls explicit content and performed sexual acts in front of them and engaged in sexual conduct with them. In one incident, the man walked out of his shower into the living room where the children were situated, played a pornographic film on the television and began a sexual act in front of the pair. On another occasion, while playing on his phone, one of the young girls found an image of naked women and upon asking what they were, the man proceeded to show her a video of people having sex. It was also revealed during the four-day trial in February, the man had bribed the children with money to keep them quiet about the offending, an act District Court Judge Mark Levy deemed an “element of grooming.” It was also submitted in pre-sentencing reports the man had previously served 13 months in custody following drug charges in 2021. The court was also told of the 66-year-old man’s struggles with extensive and ongoing health issues, which played a large part in Judge Levy’s considerations for sentencing when regarding the man’s “likely life expectancy”. Although Judge Levy disclosed that the typical sentence for this type of offending would be eight years imprisonment, he instead handed down a seven-year sentence. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800