How a seemingly innocent family snap of a smiling father and daughter hid decades of sexual abuse before two sisters finally put him in jail after a 40 year fight for justice
- Victor Ian Melville, 65, played Australian rules football across the country
- He raped his two young stepdaughters behind closed doors on family holidays
- Paedophile pleaded guilty to six sexual abuse charges in New South Wales
- Former WAFL player already served eight years in WA for crimes against the girls
- Stepdaughter said 'he took a life and a childhood that could have been different'
- They are shocked he is still out on bail in WA despite being a serial paedophile
A seemingly innocent picture of a smiling father and daughter actually illustrated one of the many places he molested her over the course of a decade.
Victor Ian Melville, 65, last week pleaded guilty to historic child sex charges after subjecting his two stepdaughters, Lisa and Julie Morgan, to a campaign of abuse which lasted most of their childhood.
The Morgan sisters have shared their past with Daily Mail Australia, revealing the abuse spanned across state and international borders from the time they were 11.
Julie shared one of the only pictures taken of her with her stepfather, a prominent WAFL star in his day, at their grandmother's house on the mid-north NSW coast.
The photograph showed a topless Melville with his arm draped across Julie's shoulder.
The duo are smiling for the camera, but it was on that very hill where Melville would subject the teen to a sickening sexual attack.
Julie (pictured with Melville) shared this innocent family snap at her grandmother's home on the mid-north NSW coast before she was sexually assaulted in the very same spot
The abuse started for Lisa Morgan, now 53, (right) in 1979 when she was just 11, and then in 1984 Melville began to prey on 12-year-old Julie, now 49 (left)
She said: 'He walked me up the hill and I was assaulted. At this time he had already been abusing me for three years.'
Melville's reign of terror against the sisters lasted in excess of a decade. He would repeatedly rape and abuse them during family holidays throughout Australia and overseas.
After 40 years seeking justice, Melville finally admitted his crimes in Sydney District Court last week, 15 years after he was found guilty of 32 similar offences in Perth.
It was the first time he accepted his actions were wrong, reversing decades of denials.
The abuse started for Lisa Morgan in 1979 when she was just 11, and then in 1984 Melville began to prey on 12-year-old Julie.
'For all that time it was a secret, he also abused us everywhere we travelled as a family - New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Hawaii,' Julie, now 49, said.
'I don't know how I got up every day but I finished Year 12 and I went to university. Seeking justice has given me that energy to know that I'm doing the right thing.'
Melville started abusing Lisa Morgan (right) in 1979, and Julie (left) in 1984. They lived through the horrifying abuse for more than a decade
Melville (left) served eight years in jail and two on parole for sexual offences against his two stepdaughters between 1979 and 1989 in Western Australia
Lisa, now 53, was horrified when she learned her paedophile stepfather was also abusing her little sister, having spent years believing it was only happening to her.
But the sisters said the predator was able to 'mentally manipulate' them both as the family moved around the country for his football career.
Julie said: 'He said to me "go and tell your mother, you think she doesn't know what's going on" so there was a feeling of "gosh, does she?" so that we didn't get close to each other.
That was a lie. Their mother never knew what he was doing to the sisters.
Both women slammed a system they say took far too long to hold their stepfather accountable for his horrendous crimes and provide support for victims.
They also expressed their outrage at the Sydney District Court's failure to seek revocation of Melville's bail, meaning he remains a free man living in the same Western Australian community as his victims while he awaits sentencing.
'The failures of the system have been shocking. If you look at how many years we've been fighting, it just shouldn’t be like that,' Julie said.
'I just want to highlight the problems for victims in the justice system. Victims shouldn't have to chase these things up.
'It would be nice to know there was support there, and for us, there was not.'
Julie (pictured with her sister left) said her childhood experiences has given her the strength to tackle future challenges
On Thursday the Morgan sisters (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia of their relief to find closure at last, but slammed a system they say took far too long to hold their stepfather accountable for his horrendous crimes
Lisa (pictured right in pink dress and left in white) was horrified when she learned her paedophile stepfather was also abusing her little sister, having spent years believing it was only happening to her
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In 2005, Melville was convicted of 32 child sex crimes in Western Australia, the details of each offence too shocking to publish.
He was jailed for six years but refused to admit he was guilty and he lodged an appeal which resulted in four years being added to his sentence.
But in an extraordinary turn of events he was released into the same community as his stepdaughters in 2013 and authorities failed to tell the two girls about his movements.
Melville (pictured) appeared in Sydney District Court on Friday and pleaded guilty via videolink to six charges relating to sexual abuse they suffered during family holidays in Taree in the 1980s
He went on to publish a blog detailing his own football career in 2015 titled: 'Perth Personality of the Month'.
On a separate website, which shows pictures of his artwork, he also posted a chilling message which read: 'We continue to entrust our future with men and women who promise us the most not those who will do what's right.'
But on Friday, the girls saw their 40-year fight for justice come to an end as Melville pleaded guilty via video link at Sydney District Court to six charges relating to sexual abuse they suffered during family holidays in Taree in the 1980s.
Lisa, who now works in real estate, told Daily Mail Australia that the plea gave she and her sister a sense of closure.
'To get that guilty plea from someone who had the character of not accepting any responsibility - it's about being believed,' she said.
Melville is still out on bail and is living in Perth as he awaits sentencing, as the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions did not seek revocation of his conditional bail.
'He shouldn't have that luxury. He pleaded not guilty right until the last minute. I have no doubt he felt he did no wrong,' Julie said.
Julie, now an interior architect and married with four children, said her childhood experiences have given her the strength to tackle future challenges.
She said: 'Now I'm able to live the life everyone deserves to live without being scared and hurt. It's given me that power back. I'm worthy of being able to be free.'
Melville's next court appearance for the New South Wales charges is October 13.
The sisters share a remarkable bond and now feel some closure after Friday's verdict
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