An American man who claimed he mistook his nine-year-old daughter for his wife when he molested her has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail.
Judge Pang Chung-ping said the 59-year-old teacher had committed a “disgusting and despicable act” which breached the trust of both his child and his spouse at District Court today, SCMP reports.
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of three counts of indecent assault earlier this week, in relation to three separate assaults he made on his then-nine-year-old daughter’s chest and genitals on July 22, 2015.
The incidents happened when the girl, who was identified as X, was sleeping in her parents’ bed while her mother was away, the court heard.
X testified that she left the bed after her father began molesting her, but he followed and continued to touch her.
The child said her father stopped after she asked him to, and apologised. The next day, he reportedly apologised again and told her not to tell anyone what had happened.
When confronted by X’s mother a month later, the defendant allegedly claimed that he had mistaken the nine-year-old for his wife.
According to Oriental Daily, that the defence appealed for a lighter sentence based on the reasoning that the 59-year-old wouldn’t be able to find work as a teacher with a record of sexual assault.
Pang refused, and said that immediate imprisonment was the “only option” for the “acute and lasting trauma” he had caused to his daughter.
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