Man who made 13-year-old stepdaughter wear nappy and sports bra, forced her to dance while he recorded spared jail
A stepfather from Perth who had forcefully recorded his 13-year-old stepdaughter dance in a nappy and sports bra has been spared jail time. The name of the stepfather has not been revealed in order to safeguard the identity of the victim.
In 2018, the man forced his stepdaughter to choreograph to the game Fortnite and had scrawled the words "$5 for sex" across her body. While filming, he told her "you're anorexic" and "old men would love this".
The West Australian reported that on Friday, October 25, in the Midland Magistrates Court, in Perth's north-west, the stepfather pleaded guilty to indecently recording the girl.
When District Court Judge Christopher Stevenson found that the stepfather's actions were not sexual but disciplinary, he avoided jail time. The judge said while no "inappropriate sexual intent was involved, he found the case disturbing".
He added, "Having said that, I express the court's disgust at the behavior." Instead of jail time, Judge Stevenson has imposed a 14-month intensive supervision order.
The incident occurred when the mother was taking a call in another room. The court also heard that all the children, except for the 13-year-old who now lives with her biological father, had lived with them and the mother had even planned on continuing her relationship with the offender.
The offender also has a prior history and this is the second time he has avoided jail time. He had previously assaulted the same girl, her brother, and two of his own children in 2017.
The offender handed over other punishments as well including a time when the girl and her brother were forced to lie down while their sister was made to ride a child's rocking horse on top of their bodies.
The defence lawyer Vamanan Yogendran told the District Court that his client had attended parenting classes and was also remorseful of his act.
Judge Stevenson said that the stepfather's behaviour towards his stepdaughter was "totally inappropriate and unacceptable". He also said that the offender's Burmese-Vietnamese-Portuguese heritage probably played a part in his disciplinary parenting style as well.
The judge said, "She was in a vulnerable position and it is a gross breach of trust for you to deal with her in the way that you did. Hopefully, you will have learnt your lesson and you will take steps to make sure that you don’t behave in a similar way in the future."