A CENTRAL Victorian man who sexually assaulted a teenage girl, causing her to fall pregnant, has received a partially suspended jail term.
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The 38-year-old man was sentenced in the County Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The court heard over several months in 2005, the man - who was 22 at the time - sexually assaulted the 15-year-old girl on numerous occasions.
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The man's brother was dating the girl's mother at the time so the man would look after the girl while the mother was away.
The court heard he started buying her gifts and by mid-2005, the man began sharing a bed with the girl.
In early August, the man started sexually assaulting the 15-year-old and in October she fell pregnant.
The girl then terminated the pregnancy and moved out of home.
The court heard the man continued to see the girl and sexually abuse her until the end of 2005 when he moved to a different part of regional Victoria.
In December 2005, the girl's mother reported the abuse to police but the girl did not want to make a statement.
The victim came forward to police in February 2019 and detailed her allegations.
The man was arrested in December 2019 and made a mostly "no-comment" interview to police.
He was released on bail before he formally pleaded guilty to the charges in May last year.
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The court heard as a result of the offending, the victim turned to illicit substances and became isolated from her family.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Peter Lauritsen said the victim painted a "very depressing picture".
Judge Lauritsen said the 38-year-old man had led a "blameless life" for the past 16 years, as he had not reoffended and instead got married, started a family, and held stable employment.
But the judge said the "protracted and serious" crimes had a "profound" effect on the victim.
The judge said the pregnancy was an aggravating factor in the offending so the man should spend some time in prison.
The man was convicted and sentenced to two years and six months in jail, with six months of that sentence to be served immediately.
The balance of the sentence will be suspended for two years and six months.
Judge Lauritsen said if the man committed an offence that was punishable by jail in that time period, he could have the suspended sentence restored.
If the man did not plead guilty, he would have been jailed for three years and six months with a non-parole period of one year and nine months.
The 38-year-old will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
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