The 45-year-old was found guilty by a jury in the Shepparton County Court of sexual penetration of a child aged under 16 years, 12 charges of an indecent act with a child under 16 and three charges relating to sexual assault of the girls.
The charges stem from 12 incidents between 2001 and 2015 and happened in several Victorian towns, including Cobram, when the girls were all aged between eight and 14 years old.
The incidents including raping two of the girls, touching them inappropriately and sexual acts with them that occurred in houses, a car and even at a local pub.
Some of his victims also gave evidence of occasions he had acted sexually inappropriately with them, up to 20 or 30 times in a similar way, but these did not result in more charges.
The man pleaded not guilty to the charges in court and said the girls gave “false evidence” to bring the charges against him, but the judge said he found they made “impressive witnesses”.
The jury also convicted him on the 16 charges and found him not guilty on two counts of indecent acts with a child under 16 years.
In sentencing the man to jail in the Melbourne County Court, Judge Michael Cahill said the man’s actions had “caused profound and long-term harm” to his victims.
He noted the man had adjustment anxiety disorder and this would time his time in prison harder, and the man’s defence counsel said he had contemplated suicide while in prison awaiting the final sentencing of the case.
He also noted the man had no prior convictions, and none since the historic offending.
Judge Cahill said the man’s offences had been for his “own revolting sexual gratification”.
He jailed the man for 12 years, and set a non-parole period of eight years and six months.
The 89 days the man has already spent in pre-sentence-detention counted as time already served on his sentence.
The man was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.
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