Two sisters have spoken of the ongoing trauma they have suffered since a man they knew sexually abused them.
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The women were in their teens when Daniel Travis King, 44, committed his crimes against them.
He was sentenced in the County Court in Bendigo this week to a three-year wholly suspended prison term after pleading guilty to three counts of committing an indecent act against a child under 16 and two counts of indecent assault.
Both women read their victim impact statements to the court, in front of King, a decision Judge Wendy Wilmoth described as courageous.
The older of the two spoke of how she was a "happy, outgoing, normal teenage girl" before King molested her, but the crimes had made her distrustful and "constantly scared".
"The trauma has made me struggle with the idea of working, studying or seeing people," the woman said.
She spoke of the mental health issues the offending precipitated and the profound impact of these.
"I want my life back... I want to be able to trust people, I want to be able to make friends," she said.
Her younger sister, too, spoke of the deep scars King's offending had left on her life.
She questioned how she could know that her children would not suffer the same crimes when the person who abused her was someone that was trusted.
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King's offending had damaged her attitudes towards relationships, she said, and for a long time she thought it was OK to let men "use and abuse" her.
The woman said she was now in a healthy relationship, but she still had to reassure herself it was not King when she awoke during the night and felt her partner beside her in bed.
She had not long turned 12 when the first crime occurred; King was an adult.
The court heard King would often touch the girl in ways that made her feel uncomfortable.
Then, one day at her home, she and King were discussing puberty when he commented on her breasts and molested her. He passed the conversation off as "educational".
Over a period of time King molested the girl on at least 10 occasions.
On one occasion he said to the girl, "Oh, you've joined the itty bitty titty committee now", before again groping her.
When the girl was 13 and asleep in bed, King got in and began touching her.
She woke and told him to get out, and he left after her mother came into the room.
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King had also touched the girl in other sexually abusive ways; when she walked away, he would deny doing anything wrong.
He also abused the girl's older sister, who was aged 15 to 17 at the time.
One night King told her to sit on his penis.
On another occasion, when she was about 15, she was drinking and began to feel sick.
Her father and King put her to bed and when her father left the room to get a bucket, King assaulted her.
The girl tried to push him off but was too drunk, and King only stopped molesting her when her father came back in the room.
After that incident, she tried to stay away when King visited the family home.
When she was 17 he groped her as she tried to do her homework.
She threatened to hit him and when King goaded her on she did, then fled the house.
Over the course of a few years, she confided in some friends that King had abused her.
The offences were later reported to police and it was during the investigation that the woman's younger sister disclosed the crimes committed against her.
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Defence counsel John Lavery told the court King's alcohol use was a feature in some, if not all, his offending.
But during a jail term he served from 2010 for recklessly causing injury King had undertaken rehabilitation for alcohol and drug abuse, and Mr Lavery said this was significant.
Mr King's partner gave evidence to the court that he no longer drank except on special occasions, and even then it was only a small amount.
Mr Lavery said King's guilty plea, while not made at the earliest stage of the proceedings, had significant utilitarian value and he had accepted responsibility for his crimes.
He asked the court to consider a suspended jail term.
Prosecutor Grant Hayward said the offences were "disgraceful", but accepted a suspended prison sentence was within range.
King wiped away tears as Judge Wilmoth delivered her sentencing remarks.
She said deterring others from committing similar offending was of great importance in sentencing because of the need to protect children.
Judge Wilmoth noted the offending involved a significant breach of trust, King having been known to both the victims and their parents.
"Clearly your offending has had a very profound and lasting impact on [the victims]," Judge Wilmoth said.
"You assaulted them at a vulnerable time in their teenage years and... they felt too embarrassed and ashamed to tell their parents.
"They were unable to be comforted and assured that they were not in the wrong, and that appears to have caused them great harm."
Judge Wilmoth said King's guilty plea was late, but saved a trial; there was no indication of remorse, but he had acknowledged responsibility for the crimes.
King's rehabilitation was a mitigating factor, she said, as it meant he was less likely to offend.
She noted the trust placed in him by his partner's daughter and grandchildren, and said delay was also a factor.
King will remain a registered sex offender for life.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, support is available from the Loddon Campaspe Centre Against Sexual Assault on 5441 0430, the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292 or 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
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