A pedophile music teacher will die in prison for his “poisonous” crime that changed the life of his victim, an Adelaide court has heard.
Key points:
- Adelaide music teacher Malcolm Winston Day pleaded guilty to preparing and abusing a teenager in the early 1980s.
- He is already serving a prison sentence for abusing another student in 1987
- The 80-year-old will be sentenced later this month
Malcolm Winston Day, 80, pleaded guilty to preparing and abusing a 15-year-old student for many months in the early 1980s.
The District Court found that he was already serving a prison sentence for abusing another student in 1987.
The court said that when the abuse was revealed in late 1981, the victim’s relationship with her parents was broken and she struggled to find support.
“I felt despised by my parents and betrayed by Malcolm Day, by the school community and everyone around me,” she said in a victim impact statement.
“I felt lonely, guilty and embarrassed, and I was left isolated and depressed.”
In addition to his social retirement and his struggles with mental health since then, the court learned that he had lost his love of classical music.
“I still regret the loss of the creation of an ephemeral beauty spotless through guilt and betrayal,” she said.
“Malcolm Day’s selfish and shameful behavior changed my life.”
“He poisoned my future for his own pleasure and kept lying about it.”
Letter of apology suggests “missing information”
Day’s defense attorney, Stephen Ey, said that given his client’s age, he is likely to die in prison when a life sentence is handed down.
“It’s not a serious recidivist … he understands the offense is serious,” Ey said.
District Court Judge Jo-Anne Deuter says Day’s letter of apology suggests “information is still missing.” (ABC News)
But Judge Jo-Anne Deuter said a letter of apology from the offender, which the victim was contemplating reading, was a cause for concern.
“As far as I’m concerned, I know there are remorse, but the comments there suggest that a vision is still missing,” he said.
Day is entitled to a conviction sentence for his early conviction.
Prosecutor Lucy Hurley said the offense was serious, the impact was tragic and Day’s victim had a right to trust him.
“Old age … in such matters should have little weight [in sentencing]”she said.
“He has had the benefit of living what could have been his best years as a free man.”
Day is due to be convicted later this month.
Posted 16 hours, 16 hours ago, Friday, June 3, 2022 at 2:13 AM, updated 3 hours, 15 hours ago, Friday, June 3, 2022 at 2:42 AM