By Mitchell Clarke
A Pakenham courier driver who sexually assaulted four girls between the ages of four and 11, and was found with nearly 900 images of children, could be freed from jail in just over a year.
John Legge, 54, was sentenced in the County Court on Friday 27 November after pleading guilty to five charges of committing an indecent act with a child under 16 and one charge of knowingly possessing child pornography.
Four girls, all known to Legge, were assaulted in their homes between 2014 and 2017.
The court heard details of Legge’s offending over that period, including inappropriate touching and performing lewd acts with the children, and showing them pornographic material including child abuse material.
Judge Gwynn said: “At one stage you stated to the victim that ‘you wanted to do that with her’ meaning the sexual act of penetration. She refused.”
Legge was arrested at an address in Pakenham on 1 February 2017. A laptop, found to have 896 images of children on it, was seized.
More than 200 of the images featured adult and children engaged in sex acts, the court heard.
Judge Gwynn said Legge’s offending was serious and occurred over an extended period of time against four child victims.
Despite this, she said there was “no evidence” of planning, grooming or coercion and the offender never made threats of violence or harm.
“There is an obvious and egregious breach of trust, trust which you both exploited and abused. The age gap between you and your victims was significant,” Judge Gwynn said.
“It is trite to say that sexual offences against children are rightly regarded as very serious.
“Each of your victims were vulnerable … and were dependent on you as an adult figure.
“Your offending occurred against each of your victim in their own house – an environment in which they are entitled to feel both safe and protected.”
In a victim impact statement presented to the court, Legge’s first victim said she “couldn’t put into words“ how the situation had affected her.
“If it never happened, I know I wouldn’t be the scared, worried, cautious, untreatable, depressed, anxious person I am today. It’s ruined who I am and who I want to be,” the statement read.
The court heard Legge had a troubled upbringing and lived in a violent household, which left him homeless and residing under a bridge.
Before he was taken into custody, Legge was dependent on social security payments and lived in a van at a caravan park.
The court heard Legge pleaded guilty in a bid to close “this chapter of his life” with the desire to rebuild it by finding accommodation and employment.
He identified his behaviour as “beyond wrong” and said he thought about it daily.
Judge Gwynn said she was of the view that Legge presented with “realistic” prospects of rehabilitation.
“These prospects are perhaps further supported by your lack of relevant history and that despite an extremely difficult upbringing, you have managed to otherwise almost entirely avoid intersection with the criminal justice system,” she said.
Legge was sentenced to 26 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 16 months.
He was also placed on the sex offender registry for life.
