By Mitchell Clarke
A Cranbourne father who sexually assaulted two young boys on a number of occasions over five years has been jailed.
Kevin Leonard, 59, was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday 22 October, after pleading guilty to five charges, including three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16.
The court heard the married father of three assaulted his victims on 12 different occasions between 2001 to 2005.
Leonard, who was aged between 39 and 43 at the time, attacked his two victims in a range of public and private places, including in a bathroom at the Casey Leisure Centre and a public toilet block in Mirboo North.
After each assault, which are too graphic to report, the man would tell his victim: “Don’t tell anyone about this, remember it’s our secret” or “You’re a good boy … you can’t tell anyone … you’ll get into trouble”.
On one occasion, Leonard said “just let me” as he attempted to touch one of his victims, who begged him to go away.
His offending was eventually discovered when a suggestive note that he wrote to his victim was located by another person.
His wife filed for divorce just two days after she was made aware about the allegations in 2008.
But it wasn’t until almost a decade later that he was arrested at his Cranbourne home in November 2017, where he later denied all of the allegations put to him in a police interview.
In victim impact statements provided to the court, one of the victims said: “My life will never be the same. What I have been through from a very young age has completely destroyed me as a person. I don’t feel like I can be by myself and let my guard down or trust anyone, or have relationship or different types of intimacy without feeling like it’s doing the right thing or feeling uncomfortable.”
The other victim expressed he had felt suicidal and engaged in self harm.
“It’ll never disappear. It’s a black part of my life. I’m always fighting a battle on the inside. I’m dealing with it everyday. Never does a day past where I don’t contemplate that it happened,” he said.
In sentencing, Judge Claire Quin said Leonard’s offending clearly had a lifelong impact on his victims, which affected their development, relationships and mental health.
“The impact on both (victims) has been devastating. It clearly has affected their development as young men,” Judge Quin said.
“Those who commit offences of this nature need to be aware they will be punished.”
The court heard Leonard was born in England but moved to Australia as a young child, where he had a “deprived” childhood.
Judge Quin said it was apparent he was “treated in a humiliating and degrading fashion as a young boy”.
Prior to his sentence, Leonard was working as a driver in Dandenong South.
He was jailed for a maximum of six years and three months but could be eligible for parole after serving four years and three months.
Leonard faces the risk of being deported upon his release.
