Liam McNally
A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a Melton South boy, as well as three other boys procured through an overseas paedophile ring.
On October 24 the Melbourne County Court heard details of how Michael Corbett ingratiated himself with a Melton family in the 1980s and used this relationship to sexually and psychologically abuse a boy from that family who was about nine years old when they met. Corbett was 22 at the time.
The abuse spanned a period of about four years and included an instance where Corbett had brought his victim to work with him while working for Melton council and sexually abused him at the sewage pumping station.
The court heard that after this instance, Corbett told his victim he was now gay and that he had to keep everything a secret, and if he told anyone he would go to jail and that his mother and brothers would hate him. He said it was okay to do this and that he loved him very much.
Corbett followed the family when they moved to multiple different areas, including interstate. During periods he was the carer for the young victim while his mother was at work.
In an impact statement the victim described the “very profound harm” the abuse caused him.
He said Corbett turned his childhood into a place of neglect, fear and a constant state of powerlessness. As an adult it has impacted on his relationships and work and his mental health.
The victim made a complaint against Corbett in 2008 but he had been overseas for an extended period of time.
The court also heard that between 2018 and 2021, Corbett had sexually abused three children in the Philippines.
The young boys were aged between nine and 12, and were procured through a facilitator who was paid a maximum of $13.79 AUD for each act.
Corbett was arrested when he returned to Australia from the Philippines on November 18, 2021.
At sentencing, Judge Anne Hassan said she had no evidence upon which to make a point of remorse.
“You have offered no explanation for your offending and no material has been tendered containing any expressions of remorse on your part,” she said.
“From the outset, you have manipulated [the Melton victim] in a cruel and calculating manner, you told him he would not be believed if he said anything. You told him he would go to jail if he said anything. You told him his mother and his family would hate him… and that you did what and that what you did was because of your love for one another, clearly all meant to instil in [the victim] feelings of confusion and to make him feel complicit in what you were doing to him.
“Your offending was persistent, predatory and profoundly corrupting [the victim’s] innocence, self esteem, and sense of well being and safety.”
On the overseas offending the judge remarked Corbett had used the children “as objects to be bought and sold and bought and sold for a pittance”.
“This, in my view, above all other considerations is the most heinous aspect of your behaviour. You exploited the vulnerability of children living in poverty in a poor country,” she said.
The charges against Corbett, who is currently age 61, comprise state charges for the historical offending and federal charges for the overseas offending. He was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison with a non-parole period of 12 years.
