An Illawarra man has been found guilty of committing an act of bestiality with a pet dog in front of his eight-year-old granddaughter.
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The alarming allegation was among a dozen sexual assault accusations levelled at the man during a four-day trial in Wollongong District Court last week, in which his youngest granddaughter, now in her late teens, recounted acts of abuse over a three year period in the mid-2000s.
She told the court her grandfather’s conduct ranged from fondling her breasts to digital penetration of her vagina.
She said he also committed acts of indecency in front of her – one involving the masturbation of his pet dog to the point of ejaculation, and the other in which he masturbated himself.
The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyers arguing the accusations were fabricated and had been the product of a daughter – the victim’s mother – who was angry that her father had cut her off financially.
However, Judge Andrew Haesler found the man guilty of all but one assault charge during a lengthy judgement delivered on Wednesday morning.
He rejected arguments from the man’s lawyer that the victim and her mother had “concocted” the allegations, saying nothing in the way they gave their evidence appeared embellished or to have been “from a script”.
”The way she [the victim] gave her evidence is inconsistent with concoction,” he said.
“Her evidence was clear and remained so under cross examination.”
Judge Haesler also rejected suggestions the allegations had been motivated by a financial dispute between family members, saying there was no evidence to support that notion.
The man was released on bail ahead of his sentencing in December.
The way she [the victim] gave her evidence is inconsistent with concoction Her evidence was clear and remained so under cross examination.
- Judge Andrew Haesler.