Dad jailed for 6 years for sexually abusing his 3 children over nearly 20 years (Central Queensland, Australia)

UNNAMED DAD confessed to sexually abusing his three children over a period of nearly 20 years, and all he gets is a lousy six years in jail?

http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/story/2010/05/05/father-is-jailed-for-abuse-of-children/

Father jailed for child abuse
Liam Butterworth 5th May 2010

IT TOOK one phone call to reveal a Central Queensland family’s dark secret of sex abuse which lasted nearly 20 years.

The call triggered a chain of events which saw a father jailed for six years after he pleaded guilty to 20 charges of indecent dealing against three of his children.

Years after the abuse one of the man’s daughters had called her sister to tell her about the abuse, only to find out she’d also been through the same torment.

The man, now aged 73 and who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victims, abused his children between 1979 and 1998 at various locations around the state.

On 12 occasions the man forced his stepson (while aged between 10 and 15) and his daughter (while aged 11) to perform oral sex on him.

He forced his other daughter while she was aged between eight and 10 into similar acts, as well as forcing her to masturbate him.

Another time he “dry humped” his daughter while lying on a bed.

The father was aged between 43 and 62 during the incidents.

He was only arrested last year.

On many of the occasions the children went into the man’s bedroom seeking comfort.

In September 2004, the sisters confided in each other about the abuse and then contacted their stepbrother to discover the same thing had happened to him.

After being contacted by one daughter and his stepson, he sent them letters and did show some remorse.

The man was interviewed by police on May 15, 2009, and said the incidents weren’t quite as the children described.

However, two days later he was interviewed again, saying he’d “had an opportunity to think” and admitted it happened.

Defence barrister Tom Polley said his client ended up in tears most nights and feared it was too late to “patch things up” with his children.

Mr Polley said the man had attempted suicide.

Judge Grant Britton said the man had made a “gross breach of trust” and had exploited the situation.

He sentenced the man to six years in jail, with parole eligibility in May 2011.