A victim of a former couple who had sex with underage employees who worked at their family-owned bakery in regional South Australia in the 1980s has spoken of her “unbearable” and “soul-destroying” suffering at the hands of the duo.
Warning: This story contains content that some readers may find distressing.
A District Court jury unanimously found the former husband and wife guilty of historical sex charges in December last year.
During the trial, the court heard the pair, who had eight children together, lived in a “cult-like” situation.
Both were found guilty of having sex with one underage employee, and the male accused was also found guilty of having sex with a second underage employee, while they both operated the bakery.
Prosecutor Lisa Dunlop previously told the court both teenage girls were brought into the couple’s former marital home and both victims ended up having children with the male accused.
The court heard of the “injustice” felt by the victims.
“When I look at my 15-year-old daughter in front of me, it puts this whole situation into perspective, it disturbs me to see how young I was when you were grooming me,” one of the victims read.
“You both destroyed my adolescence for your own selfish sexual gratification.”
The victim said the former couple denied her medical support until the “last possible moment” during two of her labours.
“You let me suffer for hours and hours,” she said.
“I despise both of you for that.”
She said she felt “used, ashamed, violated, self-conscious and unworthy of being loved”.
“I felt discarded like a sex toy, living on a mattress on the floor in the bedroom,” she read.
“I hated myself and my life.”
‘You’re both monsters’
The victim said she was made to feel “lost, trapped and helpless”.
“It’s your turn to be at the receiving end of being dominated, and told what you can and can’t do, it’s your turn to cry yourself to sleep every night, it’s your turn,” she said.
“You’re both monsters.”
The second victim impact statement was read by Ms Dunlop.
“I had never been touched by anyone before. My insides were screaming for help, but I couldn’t say or do anything,” she read on behalf of the victim.
“When it was over, I had never been in so much pain.”
The defence lawyer for the male perpetrator, Sally Burgess, said he did not accept, agree with, or admit to any of the findings against him.
“It is accepted there can be no reduction in this case in relation to him for remorse or contrition,” Ms Burgess said.
The court heard that the male had been transferred to Mount Gambier Prison where he had enrolled in a Certificate III in Bible and Theology.
Ms Burgess said he had “settled” in at the prison and had been receiving “ongoing support” from other inmates.
“He describes and is thankful for the support they have given him,” she said.
Ms Burgess requested Judge Emily Telfer take into consideration the 69-year-old male perpetrator’s age in sentencing to not “ultimately crush him and leave him defeated”.
“The court must give him some hope for release,” she said.
Ms Dunlop said the victims should have been able to start their working lives without being abused.
“They should have expected to be safe,” Ms Dunlop said.
The maximum penalty for sexual abuse of a child is life imprisonment.
Sentencing submissions for the female perpetrator will be heard later this month.
