Acting Justice Michael Elkaim said the sentence “must be harsh” for a 57-year-old man who abused his granddaughter. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This story refers to child-sex abuse.
A court has heard how a victim’s mother has described how the family was “left picking up the pieces” after her daughter was abused by her grandfather.
A 57-year-old man, who Region is unable to name for legal reasons, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Friday (4 July) for sentencing.
His six charges included grooming, possession of child exploitation material and the persistent sex abuse of a child under special care.
Acting Justice Michael Elkaim said the man’s offending was to fulfil his “sick, paedophilic needs” and was “depraved and pernicious”.
The man was arrested in November 2023, and police used a search warrant to access his devices.
They would find child abuse material on his phone and computer, with Acting Justice Elkaim describing the material as “truly abhorrent”.
While some items were duplicated, the court heard there were 895 unique files, and that one of the items was titled ”The Paedophile’s Handbook”.
His actions also included abusing his young granddaughter.
During sentencing, Acting Justice Elkaim referred to a statement written by the child’s mother, where she had described the “pain and devastation” the offending had caused.
“I see the pain she [her daughter] feels every day,” she wrote.
Acting Justice Elkaim also said the sentence “must be harsh”.
“The offender told a pre-sentence report author his offending was ‘wrong and stupid’. He is correct.”
The court heard the man finished school after Year 10 and completed a butchery apprenticeship.
He had also been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Acting Justice Elkaim did not accept that his offending was caused by his mental health struggles.
He also found the long-term nature of the man’s offending, committed over months, was “inconsistent” with an argument of “temporary relief”.
Acting Justice Elkaim handed the man a sentence of just under 15 years and 10 months’ imprisonment. His non-parole period will end in December 2034.
The man, who has been in custody since his arrest, looked down throughout his sentencing and did not visibly react.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on (02) 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on (02) 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call triple zero.
You can also submit an online report about a historical sexual assault allegation for incidents that occurred more than six months ago.
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