A LAUNCESTON child rapist has been sentenced to 12 years' jail for "abhorrent and depraved" conduct described by the state's Chief Justice as the worst he had dealt with.
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The 67-year-old offender, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his four victims, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Launceston to three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 17, and one count of indecent assault.
His offending began in 1974 and ended in 1991.
The first two crimes were committed against his two de facto stepdaughters from the ages of five and 10.
He was aged between 31 and 45 at the time.
The Mowbray man raped the two girls up to four times a week over several years.
On one occasion, he held a gun to one victim's head and pulled the trigger.
It was unloaded at the time.
"At least you know I will do it," he told her.
In her victim impact statement tendered to the court, the girl said incidents of that kind occurred on a few occasions - and he also threatened her with other weapons.
The third count was committed against the daughter of his then-partner's close friend.
He raped the child on regular occasions, when she was aged between seven and 10, while she was staying with her family and on later occasions when he was babysitting her.
The first time he did it, Chief Justice Ewan Crawford said the offender put his hand over the distressed girl's mouth to silence her.
"Typical of his attitude to all of the children against who he offended, he said to her words to the effect, `don't bother telling your mother - she won't believe you. You're only a kid'," he said.
The fourth count occurred in 1991 when the offender was 48 and his female victim was nine.
He indecently assaulted the child in his car on three occasions after taking her roller-skating.
He was interviewed in April last year and made limited admissions to police.
"The case is certainly the worst of its kind with which I have dealt," Chief Justice Crawford said in sentencing him yesterday.
"The conduct of the accused was abhorrent and depraved.
"It amounted to grave breaches of trust in regard to all four children, and particularly to his de facto stepdaughters."
Chief Justice Crawford said the offender took advantage of the vulnerability of children and dealt with them in "disgusting and cruel ways, solely for his own pleasure".
He said a substantial sentence of imprisonment was called for.
The offender will not be eligible for parole until he has served seven-and-a- half years of his term.
His name has also been placed on the Community Protection Register and he must comply with reporting conditions for seven years upon his release.