An emergency doctor sexually assaulted a young Ballarat girl a number of times over two weeks, a court has heard.
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The victim said 44-year-old perpetrator Obiyo Chigozie Nwigwe, who was working in Bendigo, had stolen her innocence and her childhood from her.
"I have had so many suicidal thoughts and not wanting to be here anymore as I could not bear to think about what you have done to me," she said reading her victim impact statement to the court.
"I am so exhausted and hurt and feel this is stuck with me for the rest of my life."
Nwigwe met the victim after moving to the area in early 2020.
He worked as an emergency doctor at a Bendigo Hospital and was married with three young children, living in Australia on a visa.
The family moved to Ballarat from the United Kingdom but soon after moving his wife returned to the UK to complete her medical studies.
Crown prosecutor Brett Sonnet told the County Court in Ballarat on Tuesday the sexual offending began on March 4, 2020 at his home while his children, the victim and her older sibling were doing homework.
Nwigwe asked the victim to come into his bedroom where he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him.
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He kissed her, said 'I love you' before pushing the victim to the ground and sexually assaulting her.
The victim's sibling and Nwigwe's own children were in the house at the time.
The court heard Nwigwe later sent a naked picture of himself to the victim's phone.
The victim and her sibling attended Nwigwe's home again on March 9, 2020 because Nwigwe had organised to take them on an outing with his children.
Nwigwe took the victim into his bedroom, before again sexually assaulting her.
He organised another outing for the children the next week and the children were watching television together when he called the victim to his bedroom.
Nwigwe raped the victim and did not wear a condom.
The court heard he called her to his room again 45 minutes later, kissed her and raped her again.
On March 19, 2020 Nwigwe raped the victim a further three times in his bedroom.
Nwigwe told the victim he would kill himself if she told anyone about the offending.
The victim told a friend at school about Nwigwe's actions and later her mother and father.
They made a report to police in Ballarat on April 29, 2020.
Nwigwe admitted to the offending during a phone call with the pastor of his church but later denied the offending to police and said the victim was making up the allegations.
He entered pleas of guilty to four charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and one charge of using a carriage service to transmit indecent material to a child under 16 on May 31, 2021.
Police found naked images of Nwigwe that had been sent to the victim's phone and a total of 929 messages exchanged between them over a period of 10 weeks from February.
The victim told the court she constantly felt physically sick, anxious, depressed and tired and had nightmares about the sexual assaults.
"I haven't been able to socialise with friends and am missing out on normal things every other kid gets to do," she said.
"No one in my family feels safe anymore. My innocence and my normal childhood has been taken away from me.
"This is beyond terrifying.
"I want you to know I am still living and fighting and I am not going to let what you did to me ruin my future."
The victim's mother said her 'beautiful' and 'happy' child had become angry, depressed and anxious.
She said she believed Nwigwe would have known her daughter was vulnerable and would have felt she was easy to take advantage of.
She said her daughter was struggling at school, would not be touched and kissed by anyone including family and felt unsafe at home.
"She talks in her sleep and we often hear her recount what he has done to her. Sometimes we wake to her screaming in the night," the victim's mother said.
"She has had many meltdowns and when she has major meltdowns she bangs her head saying I just want to get it out of my head.
"It is completely soul crushing.
"I tell myself I must be strong for her, but it is so overwhelming and painful and traumatic and it completely tears me apart inside."
The victim's father said he felt guilty, embarrassed and ashamed because he failed to protect his daughter and was tricked and manipulated into thinking he could trust Nwigwe.
"He portrayed himself to be a good father a good doctor and a good friend, but he was a child sex offender masquerading as a good human being," he said.
"I held him to a higher standard because he was a doctor. I felt my children were safe in his presence and in his home because he had three young children of his own."
The victim's father said he felt sick knowing Nwigwe raped his daughter while Nwigwe's own children were in the house.
"Pretending to be a good doctor was his disguise. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing he fooled me," he said.
"I assumed he would have a greater understanding of the lifelong effects of the trauma and the damage caused when a 44-year-old man takes advantage of a developmentally vulnerable 13-year-old child."
The victim's father said he had to drive around the block every night for three months after the offending until they installed security cameras so his family could sleep at night.
He said it was sickening to have to drive past the house and the bedroom window where the assaults happened every time they left the house, but they could not afford to move.
Judge David Sexton said Nwigwe's offending was a breach of trust and a breach of his oath as a doctor to care for others.
Defence barrister Colin Mandy S.C said Nwigwe, originally from Nigeria, had torn apart his marriage, his career as a doctor and his life in Australia in two short weeks.
He said Nwigwe expressed remorse for his offending and character references revealed it was hard to believe the man they knew had committed this offending.
Mr Mandy said Nwigwe had depression and post traumatic stress disorder at the time of the offending.
He said Nwigwe accepted he would be imprisoned, would be deported upon his release and he was unlikely to practice as a doctor again.
Nwigwe's registration to practice medicine in Australia has been cancelled and his registration in the United Kingdom has been suspended.
The standard sentence for sexual penetration of a child is six years' imprisonment and the maximum sentence is 15 years.
Nwigwe does not have a criminal history.
He will return to court for sentencing at a later date and was taken into custody at the end of the hearing on Tuesday.
Seeking help
- Lifeline - 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636
- Safe Steps, Victoria's 24-hour family violence response hotline - 1800 015 188
- 1800 RESPECT, the 24-hour national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service - 1800 737 732
- No To Violence's Men's Referral Service, for men concerned about their use of violence - 1300 766 491
- The Centre Against Sexual Assault Central Victoria, available from 9am - 5pm on weekdays, on 5441 0430, and the Sexual Assault Crisis Line at all other times on 1800 806 292.
- The Orange Door in Loddon, available from 9am - 5pm weekdays - 1800 512 359
- The Centre for Non-Violence, for people who live in the Loddon region, on 1800 884 292.
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