A Riverina man has been jailed after he was convicted of three historic sexual acts against children despite initially denying the charges.
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The 70-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in 2019 for offences that took place between 2008 and 2011.
In January, he pleaded guilty to two counts of committing an act of indecency towards a person between the age of seven and 10 years and inciting a seven-year-old to commit an act of indecency with himself.
Documents tendered to the court revealed the man was married to the grandmother of the two victims for 20 years, and the pair lived in the region.
On one occasion in 2008, a young boy, aged between seven and 10, was dropped off at the offender's home for a fishing trip.
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During the day, the man exposed himself and committed a sexual act while lying next to the boy. When a car drove past, he stopped but then started again after the vehicle had left the scene.
In a second incident that year, the boy was on a school bus that the man drove when he again committed a sexual act in front of him including ejaculating in front of the boy.
Then in 2011, an offence was committed against the boy's seven-year-old sister when they were at a lake with the man.
The girl was sitting on his lap when she jumped off and noticed the man had exposed his genitals. He asked her "do you want to touch it", to which she replied "no".
Ten years later, the sister spoke to her father and the matter was reported to the police.
In his sentencing remarks on Tuesday, Judge Gordon Lerve accepted the defence's position that the conduct did not escalate in the last matter.
"There is an abuse of a position of trust with both victims," he said.
"The offending was opportunistic to some extent but not entirely so. The offender clearly waited until he was alone with the children."
The court heard the man had no criminal history, while a clinical psychologist's report stated he "categorically repeatedly denied attraction to young children" and expressed remorse for what happened.
However, a sentencing assessment report stated he "vehemently denied responsibility for the offences" and justified pleading guilty by saying he protected the victims from the stress of going through a court hearing.
Judge Lerve accepted that the man had become a "hermit" and acknowledged the submission that there is no suggestion that he offended against other children on the school bus.
"I have reached the conclusion that there should be a sentence of imprisonment imposed in this matter," he said.
Judge Lerve handed down a combined sentence of two years, with a non-parole period of one year to begin on July 27.
He is eligible for release on July 26, 2022.
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