A NORTHERN Victorian man who repeatedly sexually abused a young boy in the 1980s has been jailed for 12 years.
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The 76-year-old fronted the County Court on Thursday for his plea hearing and sentencing.
In July, a jury found the man guilty of indecent assault, penetration of a child under the age of 10, and sexual penetration of a child between the ages of 10 and 16.
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The charges stemmed from a five-year period in the early 1980s when the victim was still in primary school.
The man was 37 years old when he started sexually abusing the boy.
The court heard the man became a regular visitor at the boy's home after he helped the victim's father gain employment.
On the first occasion of abuse, the man drove with the boy and the boy's father to a secluded location.
When the victim's father exited the vehicle, the man grabbed a gun from the back seat to show the boy.
The man told the victim that if he said anything, he would shoot his father. The court heard the man then sexually assaulted the boy.
After that first time, the man regularly abused the boy over a period of five years.
He would drive past the child who was walking home from school and tell him to get inside of his car, before driving to a secluded area and assaulting him.
The court heard the man would force the abuse even as the boy told him to stop.
The sexual assaults happened several times a week so the victim was unable to describe each individual incident.
A victim impact statement was read to the County Court on Thursday. The statement said the victim had no joy in his life because his childhood and innocence was stolen from him.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Fran Dalziel said it was clear the man's offending had a "profound negative impact on the victim".
Judge Dalziel noted the man was previously convicted and jailed for sexually assaulting four other boys in the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
The man was serving a jail term when he was charged with these offences in 2017.
Judge Dalziel said a psychological report tendered to the court showed the man still denied all of the offending.
She noted the man had shown no remorse or empathy for his victims.
The judge said while the man's prospects of rehabilitation were guarded, his elderly age reduced his risk of reoffending.
Judge Dalziel also noted the man still had to face similar child abuse charges interstate.
The judge said in sentencing, she took into account the man's age and the fact that he had already served some jail time.
But Judge Dalziel said the offending was serious and needed to be condemned.
The man was convicted and jailed for 12 years, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months. His 677 days of pre-sentence detention were reckoned as already served.
The man will be on the sex offenders register for life.
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