A man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl after climbing in through her bedroom window, in what a judge described as a “parent’s worst nightmare”.
Victoria’s County Court was told Stephen Maurice, 32, removed the fly-screen of the girl’s window at 4am before sexually assaulting her in bed.
Judge Paul Lacava described the crime as “about as serious as it gets”.
“It is every parent’s worst nightmare,’’ he said.
Maurice lived only 50 meters down the road from the girl and her family.
He has pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a child and aggravated burglary, and will be sentenced next week.
In a victim impact statement, the court was told the girl and her sister now sleep with their parents every night, and that the family were living a “nightmare with no end”.
The girl is now afraid of crowds or of being without her parents, with her father telling the court Maurice had “destroyed” his daughter.
“I am no longer the family protector. Night time has become something to fear. The only reprieve is to light up the house like a Christmas tree,’’ he said.
