An Illawarra man who confessed to performing sex acts in front of his young stepdaughter and digitally raping her has been sentenced to seven years jail.
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The man, given the pseudonym George Young in court, admitted he began sexually grooming the girl not long after beginning a relationship with her mother in 2012, by getting her to watch adult pornography with him and introducing her to sex toys.
He then began masturbating in front of the girl on a regular basis.
At one stage he put his finger in her anus, while on another occasion, after watching pornography together, Young explained to the girl what "dildos" were used for and had her hold one in his mouth while he masturbated. She was aged 10 at the time.
The girl disclosed the abuse to her mother in April 2018, prompting the woman to confront her partner.
The court heard he came home from work, visibly upset, and confessed to what he'd done, telling the girl's mother "I'm sorry, it should never have happened. I don't know why it happened".
Young then contacted Wollongong Police Station and asked that police attend his address.
He told officers he had been sexually abusing his stepdaughter and admitted masturbating in front of her.
The girl went to the Wollongong child abuse unit with her mother and met with detectives the same day.
She told police Young had been masturbating in front of her since she was eight years old, with the most recent incident less than 24 hours earlier.
Meanwhile, Young turned admitted to a raft of offences during a wide-ranging interview with detectives, saying the abuse occurred when the girl's mother was at work.
A psychologist subsequently diagnosed Young with a mental illness, noting his "odd, rigid and obsessional" characteristics were "suggestive of a schizophrenic illness", which impaired his judgement.
Young told the psychologist he was aware he had "stolen [the girl's] innocence" but that he had never wanted her to suffer.
Meanwhile, the girl wrote a victim impact statement to Wollongong District Court saying she suffered from regular nightmares, cried a lot and often felt lonely because "no one understands how I feel".
"I hate that my teachers had to be told what had happened to me so they could help when I have my wobbly moment," she said.
"It's been really hard at school because I feel different. "I still don't feel safe even in my home. For me it's been hard to trust men/males, even family members."
In sentencing Young to a non-parole period of 4 years and 4 months, Judge Andrew Haesler acknowledged the 42-year-old's self-confession had saved the girl from the ordeal of having to give evidence in court.
"Here the most serious offence, and many details that enabled specific charges to be laid, were revealed by Young in his police interview," Judge Haesler said.
"He was open with them about what he did and his motivation; openness and expansiveness appear to be a product of his mental illness. Whatever his motivation, the comprehensive admissions, did save [the victim] from further interviews."
He also noted the psychiatrist had placed Young at a low risk of reoffending.
With time served, Young will be eligible for consideration for parole in August 2022.