A 38-year-old ''family man'' who took in a troubled teen relative ended up repeatedly having sex with the girl and believed himself in love, a court has heard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
The Dunlop man was considered a ''pseudo-uncle'' to the young girl but began a sexual relationship with her and the pair fantasised about running away together.
The married father-of-two has pleaded guilty to 11 charges of sexual intercourse with a child under 16.
In the ACT Supreme Court yesterday, the teenage victim said she eventually told the man she hated him and never wanted to see him again.
She broke down in tears as she gave evidence that she had wrongly believed she was in love with the man.
But the man's barrister said his client was not a ''cynical conniving seducer'' but a man in a desperately unhappy marriage who believed he was in love.
The court heard the girl, who was just 15 at the time of the offence in 2010, had been a troubled teen who needed a place to live after her relationship with her mother broke down.
The man, who worked in the defence sector, and his wife had agreed to take in their young relative and believed they could offer her a stable, loving family environment.
He appeared to have a special rapport with the girl and was her confidant. But several months after the girl came to live with the family, he started a sexual relationship with her that continued until October 2010, when police were called.
The court heard the man told the girl ''I think I'm in love with you'', exchanged romantic emails with her and bought her presents.
She did not like having sex with him and saw it as ''a condition of the relationship'' but did not tell him so.
Defence barrister Jack Pappas said the girl told police she loved the man and he had never forced her to do anything against her will.
He said this caused the man to believe the relationship was consensual and had a future.
''The reality is there was no future, there was a significant age difference which was never going to be overcome,'' he said.
The man's wife said the marriage had been unhappy for 10 years and the couple had decided to separate just before she discovered he had been having sex with the teenager.
She denied any knowledge of the sexual relationship but agreed she had resented the increasing amounts of time her husband spent with the girl.
The wife wept as she said her husband was very ashamed and remorseful for his behaviour.
''He feels so bad about what he's done to everyone, to myself and the kids, to our family and [the victim],'' she said.
Justice Hilary Penfold adjourned the sentencing hearing to September to allow the defence and prosecution to make written submissions.
