"Sole carer" dad sentenced to 7 years for sexually assaulting 11-year-old daughter (Victoria, Australia)

So UNNAMED DAD was "sole carer" (custodial father). Whose idea was that? Somehow I don't think it was the Mum's. At any rate, we have a "sole carer" single dad who hit his four children with a belt , whose sexual abuse of the 11-year-old daughter only came to light after a teacher reported the physical abuse to the police. Are you going to tell me there were no red flags with this guy BEFORE he got custody?

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT: Where is the mother in all this? How does a single dad who beats his kids with a belt and rapes at least one of them get custody and become a "sole carer? Who made the decision that this scum (now a registered sex offender) would get custody? Where are the names? Disgusting.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1069826/man-jailed-seven-years-for-incest

Man jailed seven years for incest
13:40 AEST Tue Jun 15 2010

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 on Tuesday.

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 three dollars 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.