Arabic version: سجن رجل من شمال كوينزلاند لارتكابه جرائم بحق فتيات قاصرات

According to ABC News, Charles William Gary Ottaviano has been sentenced to 12 years in jail in the Townsville District Court for rape, sexual assault and recruiting underage girls for sex.

Ottaviano had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of rape, six counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, and one count each of repeated sexual conduct with a child and sexual assault. The offences took place over seven years. Four of the five complainants were under 16, and the youngest was 13 when the offences occurred.

The court heard Ottaviano raped a child and bribed her to recruit other girls for himself and other adult men to abuse. Judge Nathan Jarro said the 39-year-old supplied cash, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes in exchange for forcing girls into sexual acts.

Judge Jarro described the conduct as predatory, saying it involved manipulation and corruption through “money, cigarettes, alcohol, secrecy and recruitment”. He said Ottaviano targeted vulnerable children, ignored their pain and distress, and was motivated by “selfish and sinister desires”.

The judge also considered Ottaviano’s traumatic and deprived past, in which drugs, sex and violence became the norm, and noted he completed sexual offenders’ treatment in late 2024. Ottaviano has already served two years in pre-sentence custody. No parole eligibility date has been set.