Man who horrified Australia when he raped a two-year-old girl - giving her an STD - in a troubled Outback town is jailed for 13 years
- Man raped toddler giving her gonorrhea, severe injuries: could get life in jail
- Picked sleeping girl from the lounge while mum slept, raped her, put her back
- Rapist pleaded guilty in Alice Springs Supreme Court, sentence expected today
- Crime shocked the nation prompting Prime Minister to visit Tennant Creek
A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison raping a two-year-old girl and giving her a sexually transmitted disease in a crime that shocked the nation.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent at the Alice Springs Supreme Court on Friday, and was sentenced to a prison term.
The toddler suffered severe internal injuries including cuts, bleeding, swelling and bruising after the man raped her in her home at Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory while her mother was sleeping in 2018.
Remote Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory where the horrific child rape occurred
Tennant Creek is far away from major urban centres Darwin and Alice Springs, and has suffered social problems such as substance abuse, crime and sexual predation of children
The rapist infected the child with the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea, in the attack on February 15, 2018, and she suffered severe psychological damage.
Crown Prosecutor Glen Dooley told the court the offender had removed the little girl from the lounge room where she was sleeping, and took her to the bedroom where he raped her.
When he was done, he put her back in the lounge room.
Sometime later that night, another man saw the girl bleeding and woke her mother who dressed her and hailed an ambulance and police vehicle, ABC news reported.
After being treated at Tennant Creek Hospital she had to be flown to Adelaide where she had a blood transfusion due to the severity of her injuries.
Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was so shocked by the horrific crime he flew to Tennant Creek to see first hand what could be done to fix the social problems
Mr Dooley told Judge Judith Kelly that the offending was in the worst category with a maximum penalty of life in jail.
'This is a crime that deeply disturbed the Tennant Creek community and the nation,' he said.
The Crown Prosecutor said the man had shown no remorse, denied the offense and constructed an alibi that police investigators had dismantled.
Share this article
The man's defence lawyer, John McBride, admitted it had been a terrible act against a vulnerable child but said a psychologist's report showed the offender had shown some remorse for his actions.
He told the court the man had suffered since age 15 from bouts of homelessness and substance abuse.
The man has been in custody since his arrest.
News of the rape shocked Australia when it happened.
Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne’s released a redacted report into the toddler’s rape in April 2018 that revealed child protection authorities had been notified many times about the girl's welfare but had failed to act.
Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was so shocked after reading the graphic details in the uncensored report that he flew to Tennant Creek.
A $78 million regional deal to improve economic and social services in the town followed along with emergency liquor restrictions
Alice Springs Supreme Court where the case was held on Friday (file photo)
