Dad jailed for sexually abusing daughter over 8 years (Vancouver, Canada)

UNNAMED DAD. Was there a mother in this home? There is absolutely no mention of one, even though it's said that the girl had a brother.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

http://www.nsnews.com/news/North+Vancouver+jailed+abusing+daughter/5858008/story.html

North Vancouver man jailed for abusing daughter

By Jane Seyd, North Shore News December 14, 2011 7:03 AM

A provincial court judge in North Vancouver has sentenced a 54-year-old man to a year in jail for sexually molesting his daughter over an eight-year period.

Judge Carol Baird Ellan handed down the sentence Nov. 25 after the man pleaded guilty to touching a child for a sexual purpose.

The girl was six when the abuse began and 14 when it ended. It included several incidents where the girl fell asleep in the family's living room and woke up to find her father sexually touching her or simulating sex with her. The abuse always happened after her father had been drinking.

The girl didn't say anything to the rest of her family for years, but as she got older she began using strategies to avoid her father, such as sleeping in her brothers' bedroom, hiding in her closet and running away from home. She eventually told family members what had happened following a fight about her boyfriend.

After the revelations, the father left the family home and took steps to curb his drinking.

The judge noted the man himself had a childhood history of family dysfunction, violence and attendance at residential school. He was both sexually abused as a child and witnessed others being abused.

In handing down her decision, Baird Ellan said the man's background and his own sexual abuse "may have resulted in a blurring of the boundaries that would otherwise naturally prevail in a parental relationship."

But she added a jail term was needed to condemn his actions.

"The very person (his daughter) should have been able to expect would protect her from harm is the one who harmed her," the judge said.