A 33-year-old single father of four has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment for having sex with his 11-year-old daughter.
The man, who cannot be named, committed the offences between December 2008 and June 2009, the Victorian County Court heard today.
The judge said the sexual assaults only came to light after the man had hit his four children with a belt trying to find out who had stolen $3 from a change bowl.
The children had gone to school that morning upset over the beatings and a teacher had reported it to police who then discovered through interviewing the girl that she was an incest victim.
The judge said the man had only pleaded guilty halfway through the trial after his daughter had gone through the trauma of giving evidence and where it had been alleged she had made the whole thing up.
“Your level of insight makes it difficult to see that you are completely contrite,” the judge said.
“The message must be sent to the community that if you sexually abuse children, harsh punishment will follow.”
He said as sole carer, the father’s role had been to protect his children.
The man pleaded guilty to one count of incest and one count of causing serious injury.
The judge sentenced him to seven-and-a-half years in jail with a minimum non-parole period of five-and-a-half years.
The man will be registered as a sex offender for life.
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