Father of seven jailed for raping his injured wife and sexually assaulting baby daughter during nappy change

A father who raped his wife three times while she was injured and sexually assaulted his baby daughter while he changed her nappy has been jailed for five years. The man, who the Advertiser has not named in order to protect the victims, was sentenced in Perth District Court on February 17 for three counts of aggravated sexual penetration without consent and one count of knowingly sexually penetrating a child who was a lineal relative. The 61-year-old, who grew up in Albany, committed the offending against his young daughter in Seville Grove, sometime between November 1998, and November 1999, while changing her nappy. While applying nappy cream, he touched her inappropriately, causing her to lash out and kick him and remove his hand. He told his wife about the incident about 25 years later, admitting he had touched her for “his own curiosity”. The three assaults against his wife, with whom he shared seven children, occurred in Albany and Armadale between 2004 and 2018. Between January 2005 and May 2006, the victim had hurt her back falling down the stairs of their Albany home, resulting in “very significant” pain. When her husband returned home and was told what happened, he climbed into the bed with her and began touching her. Despite her repeatedly asking him not to, and her crying out in pain, he sexually penetrated her. The remaining offences occurred more than a decade later. Between April 1 and 26 in 2018, the couple were at their home in Armadale when the man woke his sleeping wife to have sex with her, despite her protesting that she could not move from back pain and asking him to stop. The next day the woman said to him: “You can’t do things like what you did to me last night. That was rape.” The final offence occurred within the same period and again involved the man raping his wife as she repeatedly asked him to stop due to her back pain. The wife, who is the mother of the first victim, reported all four matters to police in 2024 and filed for divorce later that year. The man pleaded guilty to all charges on March 31, 2025. “Your wife of 31 years, she recounts the three occasions, and she uses the word, she was raped by you during your marriage, and the pain and physical distress she would experience in the days following,” Judge John Prior said during sentencing. “She states that she’s lived in fear since the first offence, so that means there was impact immediately on her on each day or night, and there’s been continuing impact. “And that’s in the context that this was her own husband in her own bed in her own bedroom.” Judge Prior said since learning of the offences against her young self, the man’s daughter has been mentally and physically affected and had withdrawn from the church her father was a member of. “She states that she feels dirty,” he said. Judge Prior took into account the man’s early guilty pleas, recent diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder, remorse, and former good character as mitigating factors. He sentenced the 61-year-old man to five years jail, making him eligible for parole after serving three years. He also served the man with family violence restraining orders against the victims. If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or Sexual Assault Counselling Australia on 1800 211 028, the WA Sexual Assault Resource Centre on 6458 1828 or 1800 199 888 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.