A man who sexually abused three children is likely to die in jail after showing no remorse and describing his criminal actions as "a brain fart".
The 84-year-old man, who has not been named to protect the identity of the victims, repeatedly sexually assaulted the girls dating back about 20 years.
He faced the ACT Supreme Court on Friday, May 22, via audio-visual link. He had trouble hearing the court and said it was "a bloody joke" before the issue was fixed.
He was then heard burping loudly just before Justice Belinda Baker walked into the courtroom.
Justice Baker handed the man a 10-year-and-six-month jail sentence with a six-year non-parole period.
She said the frail, elderly man with significant health problems was likely to spend the rest of his life in jail, but it was important to recognise the "immeasurable psychological harm" he caused his victims.
"The offender has caused lifelong psychological harm, the sentences imposed must reflect this lifelong psychological harm," Justice Baker said.
The man previously pleaded guilty to persistent sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of committing an act of indecency on a child under 16.
In about 2004, the man would regularly attend a playground in Queanbeyan with his daughter.
His daughter and the first victim, aged under 10, became friends and started having sleepovers almost every week at the man's home in Canberra.
He would sexually abuse the girl after she bathed and in the bedroom when his daughter had fallen asleep.
The sexual abuse escalated and the girl would often tell him to stop or move her body away.
In an impact statement read to the court in April, this victim described herself as having been "a child who had no control, no understanding, and no voice".
"The abuse I experienced was not just a moment in time, it shaped my entire childhood," she said.
The man's crimes continued a few years later when a different friend of his daughter, aged 14 or 15 at the time, visited his home for weekly dinners.
He repeatedly groped the second victim in his car after driving her home.
Years later, in an impact statement, she described grooming as "insidious" and said "it blurs the lines of what is normal and what is not".
"I am living proof that terrible people find openings in seemingly safe environments."
In 2011, the man would babysit the daughter of his ex-partner when she was aged under 12.
He repeatedly played a "tickle game" with the third victim and would indecently touch the girl while tickling her.
The man would also sexually assault her in the lounge room, while her mother was in another room.
On Friday, Justice Baker found the 84-year-old had shown no remorse and "failed to recognise and acknowledge the seriousness of the harm".
She said he had described his crimes to a report author "as basic stupidity and brain fart".
The judge said the man was motivated by his own sexual gratification and there had been a significant power imbalance between him and his victims.
The child sexual abuser will be eligible for parole in 2032.
