The Moe incest case emerged in February 2007 when a woman, identified only as "M" for legal reasons, reported to

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n town of

Moe, Victoria Moe ( ) is a town in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is approximately east of the central business district of Melbourne, due south of the peak of Mount Baw Baw in the Great Dividing Range and features vi ...

, that her 63-year-old father, RSJ, had

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d her, physically abused her and kept her prisoner in her own home between 1977 and 2005.

Background

Police first learned about the alleged abuse in 2005, when M first came forward, but could not act because she did not want to co-operate after her father threatened violence against her mother and siblings. The J family had been known to authorities for more than 30 years at the time the abuse came to light; three of RSJ's six children with his wife had died and others have spent time in state care. The allegations first emerged in a news report that said authorities had failed to investigate after being warned of the abuse years earlier. During the years of abuse, M gave birth to four of her father's children, each in a major hospital in the state capital

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. One child, the only girl, died from severe brain and respiratory developmental problems at eleven weeks old; two of the surviving boys are seriously

intellectually disabled Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

; and the third has a major

speech impediment Speech disorders, impairments, or impediments, are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean fluency disorders like stuttering and cluttering. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is co ...

and social interaction problems. None of the children had a father listed on their

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...

, raising concerns about why questions were not asked at the time. The victim's mother was allegedly unaware of any abuse, despite sharing a house with her daughter, husband, and grandchildren until 2005.

Trial

RSJ was charged with 83

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

offences by police in June 2008 after

DNA test Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

s showed he was the father of M's surviving sons, LJ, CJ and NR. M and her sons were taken into the care of the Victorian authorities. RSJ appeared in court in November 2009, where he pleaded guilty to ten counts of

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

, two counts of

indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broa ...

of a girl under the age of 16, and one count of

common assault Common assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...

: he also asked for the remaining 70 counts against him to be taken into consideration. During his

sentencing In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences f ...

in February 2010, County Court Judge Susan Pullen said: "You defiled your daughter over many years on a regular basis. Your offending involved a gross breach of trust. To describe your treatment of your daughter as appalling is a gross understatement." RSJ was sentenced to 22 years and five months' imprisonment with a parole ineligibility period of 18 years, and was also ordered to be placed on the

sex offender registry A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. Sex offender registration is usual ...

for the rest of his life. With time in custody taken into account, he will be eligible for parole in February 2027 at the age of 83, and the sentence will expire in July 2031 when he is 88 years old. His appeal against the sentence was dismissed on 29 June 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moe Incest Case 2009 crimes in Australia People convicted of incest Rape in Australia Child abuse incidents and cases

Background

Trial

See also

References