A WODONGA man who raped a teenage girl on three separate occasions will spend a year in jail for crimes that left the victim suffering nightmares and tore a family apart.
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Nick Austin, 23, raped the young girl in January and June.
He recently told Judge Marilyn Harbison in the County Court he was happy with the sentence and couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t get into fights in jail.
The young girl made a victim impact statement to the court describing her troubles sleeping and nightmares following the incidents.
In the first attack, which occurred in January, the victim was staying at the man’s home.
On the second night of her stay, the victim fell asleep while watching a movie.
The Wodonga man woke the teenager, covered her mouth and took her into a bedroom before raping her as the girl tried to push him off.
The victim was staying at his home about five months later.
Austin raped her in a similar way, taking her into his bedroom after she fell asleep.
She was again raped the following night in similar circumstances.
The offender said he knew the victim was aged about 12 and admitted during a police interview that he shouldn’t have committed the acts.
He was charged with three counts of sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16, with each charge carrying a maximum jail term of 10 years.
The judge said the girl had felt “shameful” reporting the crime.
“Your victim describes having nightmares and a lot of trouble sleeping because of what you did to her,” Judge Harbison said.
“She was worried that she would not be believed and she described the process of reporting the crime as being shameful.”
The judge said she had to “regard the protection of the community as uppermost in sentencing”.
Austin, who has previously been convicted of armed robbery, has been assessed as having a very low IQ near the range of an intellectual disability.
The judge said while there was a significant difference between his age and the victim’s age, he did not have the same maturity expected of a 23-year-old.
He was sentenced to a maximum two years and eight months in jail and will be eligible for parole after 12 months.
Austin will be a registered sex offender for the rest of life.
