A father who raped, tortured and imprisoned his daughter at a dilapidated shed near their home for more than a decade has been sentenced to 48 years in prison. Her mother, who also took part in the abuse and advised her on how to arouse and satisfy her father, was sentenced to 16 years behind bars.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the father, is still eligible for parole by 2049 after serving non-parole period for 36 years. As for the mother, she is eligible for parole by 2027 after serving non-parole period for 11 years. The parents and the daughter have not been identified by publications.
According to reports, the daughter, who is now 24, started to suffer from the rape, torture, and imprisonment when she was only five years old in 1997. The abuse stopped when she was 19 years old, Yahoo News. Judge Sarah Huggett said in a statement while the sentencing went on at the Sydney District Court that the sentencing could not reflect the harm done on the daughter and that she recognizes the possibility that the father could die in jail.
The daughter did not physically appear during the sentencing but she reportedly watched the two-day sentencing via audio visual link. The daughter described the years of abuse and torment as a living hell and that her parents' putrid acts of torture would haunt her forever.
The parents were also competitive sportspeople and they coached their daughter to become a promising athlete. She was able to find success both nationally and internationally.
The father is now 59 years old and he first abused his daughter when his wife was at the hospital when she just gave birth. The daughter was in kindergarten and they just moved to a rural property. He reportedly walked into his daughter's room naked in February of 1997 and forced her to perform oral sex on him. After the first attack, the father dragged his daughter near the creek and held her head under freezing water.
He often tied her up and surrounded the shed where she was placed with barbed wire so she would not escape. He would also reportedly lock her up in a tiny box that is used for sports gear. Sometimes she got locked up for numerous nights.
The daughter was also forced to eat her own vomit, swallow hot chillies, stand on ants nest and was threatened with a machete. She was also threatened if she did not do well in sports events. Accordingly, aside from the sexual abuse, the father used nails, scissors and many other tools to abuse her.
The father also told her, "All I've ever tried to do is be a good father. I can do what I want to you, I own you." The daughter started to think that what her father and mother were doing to her was normal at an early age.
As for the mother, who is now 51, she reportedly told her daughter that it would be better if she made noises in order to please the father. The mother and the father at one point forced their child to perform sexual acts on them. The daughter said that the mother never did anything to stop her father and protect her.
The daughter was only able to make a statement to police officials in 2011. The property was then searched and officers were able to find bloodied underpants and some tools she buried around the property for evidence.
