THE 14-month-old girl had an inkling of the imminent sexual attack on her, a prosecutor has said.
She tried desperately to crawl away from the man, but was grabbed by the legs and dragged across the bed so that the vile assault could begin, a Sydney court has been told.
The toddler was one of eight victims molested by David Shane Whitby, who in July was found guilty of 120 child sex offences. He assaulted children over a 10-year period, photographing and filming the acts.
Another of Whitby’s victims rushed crying from Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court during sentencing submissions today, as details of his attack on the toddler were read out by Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi. During the trial, which was heard without a jury, Judge Peter Berman viewed the videos and photographs made by Whitby.
One of those videos showed the attack of the baby girl. “The child sees the offender approaching her, she exhibits extreme fear … she obviously had some inkling of what was about to happen. He grabs her by the legs, pulls her towards him and commits the offences,” Mr Tedeschi said in court court.
Whitby sat in the dock of the court, occasionally shaking his head as the details were read. He claimed during the trial that he was not the offender. The offender was a man he used to know but with whom he no longer had any contact, he said. In some videos, Whitby wears items including a pink fairy outfit, a black mask, a black body suit, black high heels or a suspender belt and stockings – as do some of his victims.
A sign on the door of the court warned people of the graphic nature of the case. Earlier today, another of Whitby’s victims – now an adult mother of three – said that being forced to relive the details during the prosecution case had “ruined her life”.
“I feel like I’m worthless as a mother now because I’m so consumed about what happened to me I can’t look after my kids. I don’t cope with daily life at all,” said the tearful woman, who can’t be identified. Another male child was raped and assaulted by Whitby – with charges involving the boy totalling 91.
Mr Tedeschi said Whitby sexually conditioned his victims and that the assaults would sometimes take place while the children were watching television or talking on the phone. “The offender committed the acts for his own immediate gratification and also for the purposes of recording the acts for his later sexual titillation,” Mr Tedeschi said.
The sentencing submissions continue.
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