Addressing the court on Tuesday, Judge Bill Stuart said considering the context of the two rapes the man was found guilty for, based on the victim's testimony, it could not be said "this was a sudden or spontaneous event".

“Women are entitled to separate from their partners and husbands and not be frightened of them, not be attacked by them, not treated as objects and not used for the purpose of sexual gratification,” Judge Stuart said during sentencing. 

"The rape of your wife by you was ... a considered and determined attack by you.”

The two guilty charges related to an incident at the family's former home on February 7 last year. He is subject to a non-parole period of five years. 

The 12-member jury found the 35-year-old man, who The Courier has chosen not to name to protect the complainant’s identity, guilty of two counts of rape and acquitted him of three counts of rape on September 19.

Judge Stuart said while defence counsel had argued imprisonment would “be more burdensome” for the 35-year-old man due to his depressive disorder, the judge refused to moderate the sentence as a result. 

“Deterring others in this case is the principle sentencing consideration that I must take into account,” he said. 

“The offending represents a serious example of rape. It is clear to my mind that stern punishment must be imposed.”

On each proven charge, Judge Stuart sentenced the man to six years imprisonment, with two years from each sentence served cumulatively. Each proven charge of rape carries a potential maximum penalty of 25 years.  

Judge Stuart said although the 35-year-old man had an “excellent work record” and no prior criminal history, the accused’s denial of the offending showed an “absence of insight and an absence of remorse”, which meant there was “the need to deter” him from further offending. 

The court had previously been presented a Visual and Audio Recording of Evidence (VARE) of an interview with one of the couple’s children, recorded on February 9 2017, and a special recording with the child before Judge Bill Stuart from September 6 2018, were both played for the 12-person jury.

In his evidence, the primary-school aged child described an incident on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, when he witnessed his father “push his mother down on the bed and pull her pants down”, saying he had seen the accused “putting his rude finger up mum’s b*m”. 

The child testified that he heard his mother saying “no” and “get off me”. 

Prosecutors said the woman told her husband, “you know what you are doing is rape”.

A woman raped by her former husband said her family environment has been “shattered” by the incident, and she now struggles to show affection. 

Prosecutor Susan Borg read the victim impact statement during a plea hearing at the County Court on Monday, ahead of the sentencing of the man who was found guilty of two charges of raping his estranged wife.

The two charges he was found guilty of related to an incident at the family's former home on February 7  last year.

The 12-member jury found the man, who The Courier has chosen not to name to protect the complainant’s identity, guilty of two counts of rape and acquitted him of three counts of rape on September 19.

In the victim’s statement, she said she feels as though she’s “stuck in this continuous nightmare” and wasn’t sure “how to move on or support her kids”. 

Ms Borg said the two digital rapes should be seen as "very serious” particularly in the context of domestic violence.

Ms Borg said it was necessary to send a “clear message to community that this behaviour” of subjugation and degradation will not be tolerated, and argued the accused should receive an immediate term of imprisonment.

Defence barrister Alan Hands said that the man had a “sexual interest” in the victim, but he “was not trying to teach her a lesson”. 

“My client has no prior convictions, and his chances of rehabilitation are better than many people coming to the court,” Mr Hands said. 

Mr Hands also stated that his client’s depressive disorder would make a term of imprisonment more difficult, and asked the judge to consider a “moderate term of imprisonment”. 

The man had pleaded not guilty to all five charges and maintained his innocence during the nine-day trial. 

The incident occurred after a real estate agent left the house at 7.30pm following a meeting about listing the house for sale. 

The former couple's primary-school aged child said he saw his father push his mother down on the bed and pull her pants down to touch her inappropriately.

In a recorded interview with police, the child said he heard his mother saying “no” and “get off me”. 

The plea hearing will continue in Ballarat on Tuesday before Judge Bill Stuart. 

CASA 1800 806 292