Uni teacher 'sexually abused daughters'

May 19 (AAP)- A university teacher who tried to link his abuse of his three daughters to atrocities he saw as an aid worker in Africa has been jailed for more than eight years.
The Victorian County Court heard the 53-year-old Melbourne man began the seven years of abuse in 1994 after returning from a stint working for an aid agency in Zaire.
But Judge Lisa Hannan said she was sceptical of the link he drew between his crimes and the atrocities he witnessed in the strife-torn central African country now called the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She jailed the man for eight years and two months after he pleaded guilty to three charges of incest and three of committing an indecent act against a child under 16.
The court heard the man tried to minimise his offending and even attempted to portray one of his daughters as a liar.
Judge Hannan said he had grossly breached the trust of his daughters and their mother, and showed no regard for his daughters' welfare.
"Your victims were of tender years and you took from them the happy childhood to which they were entitled," she said.
Judge Hannan said his conduct continued to overshadow his daughters' lives and they were still dealing with the aftermath of his crimes.
She accepted the man was of otherwise good character and would serve his sentence as a protected prisoner, which would be more burdensome.
The judge also said his rehabilitation prospects were probably good given his plea and developing remorse, and if he was committed to receiving treatment while in jail.
In sentencing, Judge Hannan said the courts and the community simply would not tolerate conduct that impacted on children's lives.
The man was jailed for a minimum term of five years and 10 months.
He was sentenced as a serious sexual offender.