The defendant pleaded guilty to gross indecency involving the sexual abuse of a child victim in the 1960s.
The abuse occurred when the victim was 8-12 years old and was perpetrated by the defendant, who was a foster parent and lay minister.
The victim did not disclose the abuse until 2010.
The defendant had previously been sentenced in 2006 for similar offences against the victim's sister.
The court imposed a conditional sentence of 18 months house arrest rather than custodial imprisonment, considering the defendant's advanced age (75), serious medical condition (prostate cancer), low risk of reoffending, and the passage of nearly 50 years since the offence, while still maintaining principles of denunciation and general deterrence.
