AN INVERELL man has been found guilty after trial of dozens of historical child sex offences, accused of abusing seven different victims.
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The now 55-year-old faces a maximum of life imprisonment for charges including sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is behind bars awaiting sentence after a four-week trial in Sydney.
He was charged with sexually or indecently assaulting seven girls, aged between four and 13 years at the time of the offences.
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Last week, in a closed court trial in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, a jury of 12 found the man was found guilty of 28 separate charges.
The trial started on November 11 and culminated in last week's verdicts on all charges.
After the verdicts were handed down, Judge Siobhan Herbert formally refused the man bail.
She ordered him to remain in custody until a mention of the case in Sydney this month, when a date will be fixed for sentencing.
The man was found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault of a child under 10; seven counts of indecent assault of a child under 16; two counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 10; and five counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child over 10 and under 14.
He was also found guilty of one count each of committing an act of indecency with a child under 10; inciting a victim under 10 to commit an indecent act; attempted sexual intercourse with a person under 10; and aggravated indecent assault under 16.
The man was first charged by investigators from the Child Abuse Squads in Tamworth and Inverell.
He was arrested in the Inverell CBD in September 2017 and has been behind bars since.
He first came under investigation in 2012. The investigation then resumed in 2015 before charges were first laid in June 2017.
He had maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to all charges, but the jury found him guilty on each offence.
Much of the detail surrounding the charges cannot be reported for legal reasons.
The Child Abuse Squad is made up of specially trained officers who investigate crimes against children including abuse, sexual assaults and neglect.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
