A 41-year-old Tasmanian man has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for the persistent sexual abuse of a seven-year-old girl who called him “uncle”.
The Supreme Court heard the man, identified only as DRF, was a trusted family friend who regularly visited the child’s home unsupervised between January and June 2022.
Justice Tamara Jago said the abuse occurred frequently throughout the six-month period, often multiple times a day.
“The complainant described that many of the assaults were hard and they hurt her,” Justice Jago said.
The offending came to light when the girl, now 11, broke down crying and said, “I don’t like keeping secrets”, a remark overheard by her mother.
The court heard DRF repeatedly warned the child not to tell her parents, saying he would get into trouble and wouldn’t be allowed to return to the home.
“Such comments indicate that you well understood that what you were doing was wrong, but it also aggravates the offending in my view, because such comments placed a very young child in the untenable position of feeling conflicted about whether to keep secrets or otherwise from her parents,” Justice Jago said.
The judge said the girl has suffered ongoing trauma that continues to affect her schooling, confidence and mental health.
“… She is hyper-vigilant and anxious and is concerned about the future,” Justice Jago said.
The court heard DRF has a mild intellectual disability, with an IQ of 67 and lives with his parents, who support him.
Justice Jago said that while his impairment would make prison more difficult, it did not excuse his actions.
“I accept it impacts your understanding of societal expectations generally and informs the way in which you interact with and are perceived by others,” she said.
“But there is nothing before me to suggest that you did not know that what you were doing was wrong.”
DRF initially denied the offences when interviewed by police in February 2023 but later pleaded guilty, sparing the girl from having to give evidence at trial.
Justice Jago said general deterrence, denunciation and vindication of the victim were the primary considerations in sentencing.
“To put it simply, those who perpetrate such abuse must realise that the consequences will be harsh punishment,” she said.
With the sentence backdated to October 30, 2025, DRF will be eligible for parole in mid-2027 after serving half his term.
He will remain on the sex-offender register for eight years after his release.
