A Melbourne man has been sentenced to 15 years and six months in prison for raping a seven-year-old girl at his wife’s daycare business in Point Cook.
The assaults took place between February 2021 and August 2022, and the girl, who had been attending the daycare since she was two years old, told police she felt “scared” and “tricked” by the man.
The offender, who cannot be named, emigrated from the Philippines in 2002 and is now 50 years old.
He carried out the abuse in the lounge room of his family home, where the daycare was run.
The victim’s mother feels guilty and blames herself for what happened
The victim’s mother told the court she felt as though she had failed her daughter, saying “I blame myself for what happened.
The anxiety, the helplessness, the fear that I failed her is like running a marathon I never signed up for. And it never ends.”
The girl first revealed details of the abuse to a doctor after complaining to her older sister of pain in her genital area in November 2022.
Victoria Police then opened an investigation and located a CCTV camera in the lounge room of the Point Cook residence, but no relevant recordings had been kept.
A judge described the offender as calculating and manipulative, saying “Child sex offending is particularly grave. You breached the trust of your victim and her family and led her to believe your wife knew of the offending so it was alright.”
The presiding judge also stated that the offender’s actions were “abhorrent” and “humiliating, demeaning and objectifying.”
The daycare business has been banned to prevent further risks to children’s safety
A Department of Education spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that family daycare at the residence has been banned to prevent further risks to children’s safety. It is understood Victoria’s early childhood regulator has opened a new investigation following recent developments.
The 50-year-old offender will spend at least nine years and nine months behind bars and will be required to undergo a sex offenders treatment program and will be placed on the sex offenders register for life.