Brett David Hill was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the kidnapping and rape of an 11-year-old girl.
However, he filed a notice of intention to appeal against the severity of the sentence, prompting the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to appeal against the leniency of Hill’s sentence.
The 2018 attack began after Hill kidnapped the girl in Newcastle while threatening her with a pair of scissors. He then raped her in three different locations.
In her testimony, the schoolgirl told the court how Hill ruined her childhood, left her in permanent fear of strangers, and made her consider suicide.
Hill received a maximum sentence of 23 years and six months, with parole eligibility after 17 years.
According to Judge Roy Ellis, Hill’s crime was extreme, and he showed no sympathy, empathy, or compassion as he attacked the girl.
Hill, 49, has been attacked several times since he was imprisoned, and is eligible for parole in 2035.
According to Hill, he’d binged on pornography and had been smoking synthetic cannabis before the attack. He therefore was unable to explain his crime.
“That is the big question with me, is why I did such a thing,” he told a psychiatrist.
On June 12, 2018, the girl was walking through Hudson Park at Adamstown Heights at about 9.15 a.m. when Hill abducted her. For five hours, the father-of-three sexually and indecently assaulted the 11-year-old before releasing her at Kotara railway station at about 2.15 p.m.
Following the assault, Hill placed a plastic bag over the girl’s head, dropped her at the train station and told her to walk home.
The girl gave a detailed description of her attacker, which led to Hill’s arrest four days later.
In her victim impact statement, the girl told the court: “It is important that you hear what I have to say to you. I have been waiting for this day to tell you how I feel and how you have affected my life.”
“Today, tomorrow and years ahead, I will be scarred and never cured. I may look strong and brave on the outside but on the inside I’m breaking down. I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster, going up and falling back down,” she said. “Before all this happened, I was carefree, happy, excited. I used to think I was pretty and be a confident person. I was scared of nothing. My life was so happy back then. I used to walk around town with a big smile. I loved my life and my world was safe. I had nothing to worry about.”
“That day started with me going to school like I did every other morning. I was excited to see my friends. You kidnapped and raped me. My life as I knew it is forever changed. Every night I lie awake and look around my room. I can’t sleep and my body will be shaking. I see your face everywhere in places that should be safe, like when I play sport, in class, at home. I get so distressed and upset. I feel like my life is threatened over and over again,” the girl continued, her mother and dog by her side.
“I have had suicidal thoughts because I want the pain to stop and to be in control of my thoughts and my feelings. I will deal with this for the rest of my life. I have come a long way from when this first happened and I have achieved and survived a lot,” she told her attacker. “But, I often feel like a damaged girl. I have noticed it gets harder and harder as I get older because I understand more. You violated me on that long day but it it has impacted the rest of my life. You took away my safety and my life as I knew it. But I survived and I am holding you accountable. You will have to live with what you did to me. I can never forgive you.”
As Hill was led away from court, the girl’s father yelled: “I hope you burn in hell, you scum.”
