PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA – A Western Australian man who pleaded guilty to 40 counts of sexual offenses against his daughter, including rape and possession of child abuse material, has won an appeal to reduce his sentence.
The forklift driver, who cannot be named to protect the victim, was initially sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison for the abuse, which occurred between 2019 and 2022 when his daughter was between 11 and 14 years old.
He was caught after one of his daughter’s teachers discovered she was pregnant.
The man appealed the sentence, arguing that his early guilty plea entitled him to a greater discount.
The WA Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the initial 10% discount was “manifestly inadequate” and adjusting the sentence to include a 22% discount for the first three counts and 20% for the remaining counts.
The man’s sentence was reduced to 12 years, two-and-a-half years less than his original sentence.
The court heard that the offending was “brazen” and occurred on occasion with other children in the home or in the room.
The man had also searched online for information on faking paternity tests before his arrest.
His daughter, now 17, gave birth to his child as a result of the abuse.
Public prosecutions lawyer Natalie Sinton argued against the reduction, citing the severity of the offenses and the fact that the man had filmed his acts.
However, the court ruled that the initial discount was unreasonable and plainly unjust.
The man’s amended sentence is backdated to March 28, 2023.
Members of the public are urged to report any suspected cases of child abuse to the authorities immediately.