Two women who were indecently assaulted and raped by a Ballarat man have told the court of their daily pain stemming from the historic offending.
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The man cannot be named for legal reasons, to avoid identifying the victims.
The women provided victim impact statements at hearing for the 65-year-old Ballarat man, who pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault and one charge of rape at the County Court in Ballarat on Tuesday.
One of the women, who was indecently assaulted as a child by the man on four occasions between 1981 and 1982, was a neighbour and friend of the man's family when they were living in Wendouree.
The woman was aged seven to nine at the time of the offences, and told the court that even though she had wanted to be a mother, she could never bring herself to have children, for fear of similar abuse happening to them.
"I was forced to grow up a lot quicker that what I should have," the woman said.
"After going through the abuse I lost trust in people, particularly men, which resulted in not being able to hold down a loving and trusting relationship with a man.
"There have been times I have not gotten out of bed for days... I feel like my life has been taken away from me and I live under a constant grey cloud."
The court heard at the time of the offending, the woman was very close with the man's family and would spend a lot of time at their house.
The incidents occurred when the man and the young girl were alone, such as driving to visit a video store or getting fish and chips together.
The woman said she was made to feel like she "was a bad person", and that coming forward with the abuse would get her in trouble as opposed to the perpetrator.
The second woman, the man's then-wife, was raped in a caravan by the man when the family were staying in Echuca.
She wept as she read her victim impact statement, which detailed her psychological damage following the incident.
"I am always looking over my shoulder, or if I hear a loud noise I get scared," the woman said.
"I just want to say that when I look at you I see an evil, cunning predator.
"You make me feel sick."
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The third and final woman, the man's daughter, was aged five years old when the man indecently assaulted her across four occasions, touching her genitals.
She declined to make a victim impact statement.
Judge Anne Hassan said at the time the offences were committed indecent assault only carried a five-year maximum sentence, as opposed to 10 currently.
She said if the offending had occurred today, the man would have been given a "much more stern" sentence.
The man was imprisoned for six years and six months, with a non-parole period of four years.
He will also be placed on the sex offender registry for 15 years.
Had he pleaded not guilty and was found guilty at a trial, he would have been given an eight-and-a-half year sentence with a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years.
Affected by this story?
There is help available. You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.
Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
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