Southern Grampians area woman in court over sex crimes against sons

Two men sexually assaulted by their south-west mother when they were children will wait another week to find out if she'll be jailed for her crimes.

The mother appeared remotely in Melbourne County Court on November 23.

Judge Kevin Doyle ordered the woman be assessed for a correction order which would see her serve a sentence in the community with therapeutic conditions such as mental health treatment and potentially unpaid community work.

But he emphasised the assessment did not mean the woman would not serve time in jail.

He said there were a number of sentencing options available to him, including years in jail which could be partially or wholly suspended, or involve a non-parole period.

Judge Doyle will sentence the woman on November 30.

He said he'd received a number of medical documents from the defence outlining the woman's mental and physical health issues.

The court previously heard the offender was diagnosed with asthma, sleep apnoea requiring an airflow machine, arthritis, fybromyalgia, which is often accompanied by fatigue, and previously morbid obesity.

A barrister for the woman said her health issues added to the burden of imprisonment and that time in custody would disrupt her ongoing counselling with a psychologist.

She said her client suffered "chronic conditions" which were further exacerbated by high times of stress.

The judge said the woman's conditions were "not imminently life endangering".

The woman will face court again next week.

Earlier, October 2023: The sister of a south-west woman who repeatedly sexually assaulted her two young sons says she's glad their dad was no longer alive to see what she had done.

She was one of three people who wrote victim impact statements heard in the Melbourne County Court on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

The aunt said she was angry at her sister for denying her nephews an "innocent childhood".

"I used to look up to you as my older sister, now I am simply disgusted by you and have absolutely no respect nor care for you," she said.

"I'm so glad Dad is no longer here with us... he would be incredibly disappointed and disgusted by you."

The woman said she was initially shocked but also "interestingly not surprised" by the offending, which she said prevented her nephews from having a safe and loving home, instead growing up filled with fear, confusion and sadness.

"I always wondered how they could be so sad all the time," she told the court.

The Southern Grampians district mother, now 65, pleaded guilty on September 21 to three counts of wilfully committing an indecent act with a child under 16.

She cannot legally be named because that would identify the victims.

One charge relates to a single incident in 1998 when the woman commented on how "grown up" her oldest son was before briefly touching his genitals in a bath. He was 14.

The remaining charges relate to both her sons and involve multiple incidents of the same offence.

Prosecutor Andrew Moore previously said the woman frequently requested massages over many years.

He said the massages became increasingly sexual and at times involved the mother lighting candles and being undressed. Her sons were aged between six and 15.

On Wednesday one of the sons, who was the victim of the offending in the bath, said he felt hurt and manipulated.

He has spent more than $17,000 in psychological treatment, including exposure therapy to Elizabeth Red Door perfume which he often comes into contact with in his line of work.

Exposure therapy involves a patient being gradually exposed to the things, situations and activities they fear.

The son said the $17,000 didn't include costs of going to hospital, "top tier" health care and lost wages due to trauma, depression and anxiety over 20 years.

"I still have explosive anger outbursts to some triggers. I will require dozens more therapy (sessions) to heal from these crimes," he told the court.

He recalled being "very confused" about what was and wasn't normal behaviour, and said the offending had dramatically affected his parenting and sex life.

The son said he had avoided participating in school or kindergarten activities with his children through fear of being labelled a paedophile.

His wife also gave a statement.

The aunt said the offender should be "deeply ashamed" for what she did.

"May you never forgive yourself," she said.

"I certainly won't."

A barrister for the mother said the offending did not involve evidence of coercion or force to "secure the activity".

She said when assessing the gravity of the offending, the crimes were at the lower end.

She urged the court to consider a sentence that did not involve jail, stating suspended sentences were available to the court because the offending happened between 1998 and 2006.

The court previously heard the offender was diagnosed with asthma, sleep apnoea requiring an airflow machine, arthritis, fybromyalgia, which is often accompanied by fatigue, and previously morbid obesity.

The barrister said those health conditions would make jail more onerous on her client than someone in good health.

When asked if her client was sorry, she said her guilty plea was evidence of "some remorse".

The prosecutor said the offending was "far above" the lower end of seriousness, and urged a jail sentence involving a non-parole period.

He said the crimes represented a "serious abdication of the duties and responsibilities of a mother" .

"(The sons) were young, going through pre-adolescence and adolescence with a situation where their mother was thrusting some pretty skewed moral standards."

Judge Kevin Doyle asked for material pointing to medical treatment that could be available to the woman in prison.

He will sentence her in November.