A retired Tasmanian school principal who sexually abused a teenage girl he had come to treat like a granddaughter has been jailed for four years.
The 70-year-old man, identified only as GRS, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Thursday after pleading guilty to persistent abuse of a child.
The court heard the man offended against the girl between December 2019 and December 2020, when he was aged 64 and 65 and she was 16.
He first met the girl when she was eight and he was principal at her school.
The pair grew closer after he retired in 2014 and agreed to let her keep her horse on his property.
He became a mentor and grandfather figure, building equestrian facilities for her and having her stay with him and his wife.
The court heard the abuse began just after her 16th birthday.
Justice Robert Pearce said the man had committed a “very grave breach of the trust”.
“You should have protected her rather than engaged in sexual acts with her,” he said.
Justice Pearce said the protection of children was the dominant factor in sentencing.
“The prohibition of sexual acts with children is founded on the presumption of harm,” he said.
The court heard the girl disclosed the abuse in March 2025, when she was 21 and reported it to police about two months later.
Justice Pearce said the man knew what he was doing was wrong, given his seniority as a former headmaster.
He was jailed for four years, backdated to June 12 and will be eligible for parole after serving half the term.
His name was placed on the sex offender register, with reporting obligations for four years after his release.
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