The 41-year-old man appeared in the County Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to seven charges, including incest, sexual penetration of a stepchild, and indecent act with a child under 16.

The court heard the man abused his partner's eldest son on two separate occasions between 2004 and 2006. The boy was between the ages of eight and 10.

The man waited until the boy's mother was out of the home before he brought the child to his bedroom.

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He kissed the boy and sexually assaulted him for about five minutes. The man stopped the abuse when the boy told him no, although he continued to sleep in the bed with the child.

On the second incident of abuse, the boy kicked out at the man and fled the room to the backyard. The man ordered the boy to come back inside, but the child refused.

He waited until his mother came home, but he did not report the abuse to her because he believed his stepfather would hurt him.

The court heard the man began abusing the second boy in 2011 when the child was either nine or 10.

The man again brought his stepson to his bedroom where he kissed the boy and sexually assaulted him.

The court heard the boy felt "weird and confused" during the abuse.

The man assaulted the child on five separate occasions up until 2018 when the boy told his stepfather to stop.

The 41-year-old man was arrested in October 2019. He denied the offending during his record of police interview.

Victim impact statements were read to the County Court on Thursday.

In his statement, one of the boys told the court he had trauma and flashbacks from the abuse. The victim said he felt anxious and unable to have romantic or intimate relationships with other people.

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The boys' mother also provided a statement to the court. The woman said she had "no clue" what her former partner had been doing and the abuse had strained her relationship with her sons.

The woman said her children resented her because she did not stop the man from abusing them.

A psychological report tendered to the court noted the man had a paedophilic disorder with a moderate high risk of sexual recidivism.

Defence counsel Glenn Cooper told the court it was conceded that the offending was "extremely serious", "abhorrent", and a "significant breach of trust".

Mr Cooper said a jail term was the only appropriate sentence for the offending.

The defence counsel said his client had entered the plea at the committal mention stage so none of the victims were cross-examined in court.

Mr Cooper said while the initial psychological report made some preliminary findings about the man's cognitive state, the defence was seeking a further neuropsychological assessment to determine whether the man had an intellectual disability.

The defence counsel said the neuropsychological assessment could not take place until January.

Judge Mark Dean said the delay was "entirely unsatisfactory" and "completely unacceptable", especially for the victims who wanted the matter concluded as soon as possible.

But Judge Dean said he needed all of the relevant material because an intellectual disability could have some bearing on the sentence.

The judge confirmed regardless of the neuropsychological report, the 41-year-old man would receive a "substantial" jail term.

Judge Dean said he would adjourn the case to a further plea hearing in March, but the man's prison sentence would start from Thursday.

The 41-year-old was remanded in custody. He is due to return to the County Court next year.

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