A MAN who used clipseal sandwich bags as makeshift condoms when having sex with his 13-year-old stepdaughter was caught when he sent her to get a morning-after pill from a hospital, a court heard today.
Prosecutor Megan Heywood told the court the man was in a relationship with the girl's mother for eight years, had lived with them for five years and been married for a year.
She said the girl looked on the man as her "dad" and they formed a close relationship while her mother was away with firstly an injury and then work.
Mrs Heywood said the offending, which started in March last year and ended last December, involved mutual masturbation, oral sex and on four occasions sexual intercourse.
She said the man used clipseal sandwich bags as makeshift condoms when having sex with the girl, but on one occasion the bag broke.
Mrs Heywood said the man and the girl decided she needed a morning-after pill to avoid getting pregnant.
The girl rode her bicycle to a chemist, who refused to give her the pill because of her age.
Mrs Heywood said the girl then rode to a hospital, which gave her the pill after first calling the man, as her stepfather, to get his permission.
She detailed how the man later confessed to his wife after she found out about the morning-after pill.
Mrs Heywood said when the man was first interviewed by police he told them he had been in love with the girl.
The man pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and four counts of incest in having carnal knowledge.
Barrister Simon Hamlin-Harris, for the man, said his client had shown extreme remorse through an early guilty plea, confessing to his ex-wife and police and showing a willingness to undergo treatment.
He said while the charges covered a period of nine months, most of the offences were in a two-month time span.
Judge Katie McGinness said it had been a gross breach of trust, and she had to make deterrence a key factor.
However, Judge McGinness said there were mitigating aspects which allowed her to make an earlier than normal suspension of the sentence so the man could continue his treatment.
She sentenced him to five years' jail, to be suspended after 16 months, and declared 200 days served on remand as time on the sentence.
