Sydney - A seriously ill Australian grandfather who sexually abused two generations of his family over a 30-year period is facing the prospect of dying behind bars, Fairfax Media reported on Monday.
The 78-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, confessed in the Wollongong District Court near Sydney on Friday to molesting his daughter in the late 1960s, his eldest granddaughter in the mid 1980s and his youngest granddaughter in 2000.
All of the victims were around the age of five when the incest began. It was reported that the abuse had continued over a significant period of time, but was never reported to police.
The crimes only came to light in 2013 during a discussion between the mother and both her daughters.
The court heard that the man, from the Illawarra region in New South Wales, suffered from an array of health matters including heart disease, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and osteoporosis. There was a possibility he would die in prison, the court was told.
The man's lawyers sought a non-custodial punishment.
However, Judge Andrew Haesler sentenced the man to an overall jail term of three and a half years. He fixed a non-parole period of only 12 months after finding the man no longer posed a risk to community safety.
The man will only be eligible for parole next September.
Xinhua