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A former Ballarat White Ribbon ambassador who repeatedly abused, manipulated and raped his wife has been jailed for than a decade.
The sentencing judge was left "bereft of adequate words" by the calibre of the crimes.
Jon Seccull on Monday faced the Victorian County Court, where he was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison.
A jury had previously found the 43-year-old guilty of nine counts of rape, two assaults and one threat to cause serious injury between 2011 and 2015.
Judge Frank Gucciardo said Seccull derived pleasure from the cruelty and "oppressive subjugation" of his wife, which would often leave her vomiting in the bathroom.
He would also punish her for seeing her friends or staying out too late.
"Such abhorrent conduct is breathtaking. This was brutal and cowardly ... causing admonishment and terror for the victim.
- Judge Gucciardo
At one point Seccull held a loaded gun at her before threatening to shoot himself in the driveway so their children would see.
Another time he broke into a caravan she was hiding in and attacked her.
"Such abhorrent conduct is breathtaking," Judge Gucciardo told the court.
"This was brutal and cowardly ... causing admonishment and terror for the victim.
"The indignity inflicted is of the highest order."
The victim Michelle Skewes has given permission to The Courier to name Seccull, knowing doing so would identify her.
Ms Skewes has long advocated to have Seccull's name out there and what he did to be known in an effort to help other victims of intimate partner rape.
In a statement Ms Skewes thanked the court and the media for the interest in her story.
"All I wish for is that this case will inspire others to acknowledge that they can regain control of their lives and reclaim their dignity," she said
"I welcome the sentencing handed down today and truly appreciate that the Judge has grasped the situation as presented."
Ms Skewes also expressed relief that the judge ordered that Seccull would remain on the sexual offenders register for life.
"My advice to others who are in abusive relationships is to accept that they are stronger than they give themselves credit for, " she wrote in her statement.
"To survive abuse, with all it entails, and far beyond what the legal system recognises, takes massive strength and shows you can survive leaving, even if it might not feel like it at the time."
"I wish every victim the strength to change their circumstances. You can get through it and you can win in the end.
Ms Skewes met Seccull in 2000 and they married three years later.
Over the 13 years they were married he became progressively more abusive.
As well as the rapes, she was emotionally manipulated - told she was too fat, too stupid, too ugly. Good for nothing and not even that.
Seccull told her she was lucky he'd have her because no one else would.
The court previously heard the relationship has left the woman second guessing her ability to make decisions and she apologises for everything.
"I apologise for just existing at times - I cannot shake the sense that everything is my fault, even when it clearly is not," she said.
The Ballarat man's lies were woven with just enough twisted truth they seemed slightly believable to those who didn't know her.
"And since I dared break the code of silence that enshrouds domestic violence, (I) faced the wrath of outing the abuser and besmirching 'the good bloke'."
There have been rivers of tears as I am relentlessly hit with feelings of being disgusting and have to shower and try to scrub myself clean, at any time of day or night.
- Victim
While crying on friends' shoulders she has wondered what good she is to them and has felt the weight of the shame some in society hold for the women who stay in abusive situations.
But she recognises that weight does not belong on her shoulders.
"I have to remember to lay that blame firmly at the feet of the perpetrator, the man who was meant to love me, my then-husband."
Seccull must serve at least 10 years and six months behind bars before being eligible for parole.
With AAP
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
READ MORE: White Ribbon ambassador who violently and repeatedly raped his wife named
Affected by this story? There is help available. You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292. Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
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