A Tasmanian grandfather has been jailed for four years over the sexual abuse of his granddaughter – crimes that went unreported to authorities for nearly two decades.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard the 84-year-old man repeatedly assaulted the child during regular family visits between January 2004 and January 2005, when she was just seven and he was 62.
The abuse only came to light, the court heard, when the girl’s mother discovered her daughter touching herself inappropriately.
When confronted by his son, the grandfather wrote a letter admitting his crimes and apologising.
But despite having written evidence of the abuse, the victim’s parents made the decision not to involve police, fearing the court process would traumatise their daughter further.
Justice Michael Brett said the grandfather’s letter was intended not just as an apology, but to give the complainant “control over when and if she reported the offending to police”.
“As events transpired, the conduct was not reported to police at that time because the complainant’s parents did not want to put her through the court process,” he said.
“However, it is clear from her impact statement that she has lived with her awareness of this offending for her entire life.”
The victim, now an adult, contacted police in September 2023 – 19 years after the abuse ended – and provided them with her grandfather’s written confession.
In her impact statement, she described the “enormous and ongoing impact” of the crimes, which Justice Brett said were consistent with typical consequences when abuse is perpetrated by trusted family members.
“The complainant was and is entitled to expect that her grandfather would care for, love and protect her,” Justice Brett said.
“You did not do that, you abused her presumably for your own sexual gratification.”
The grandfather pleaded guilty early in proceedings but his police admissions did not cover the full extent of abuse alleged by his granddaughter.
Justice Brett said general deterrence was paramount in cases involving trusted family members.
“In a nutshell, those who would perpetrate such abuse, particularly when they are in a position of trust, must realise that the consequence will be severe punishment,” he said.
The sentence would have been five years without the early guilty plea and written admission.
The man is not eligible for parole until serving two years and must register as a sex offender for five years after release.
