Richard Haynes, 74, raped and sexually abused his daughter, Jeni, in Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s when she was aged between four and 11. Photo / Supplied
Richard Haynes, 74, raped and sexually abused his daughter, Jeni, in Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s when she was aged between four and 11. Photo / Supplied
WARNING: This article contains highly distressing content
A man who raped his daughter so sadistically that she developed 2500 personalities as a coping mechanism has been told he will die in prison.
Jeni Haynes put her hand over her mouth and let out a small cry in court today as Judge Sarah Huggett sentenced her father Richard Haynes to 45 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until January 2050.
Haynes, 74, put his daughter Jeni through seven years of horrific abuse between the ages of four and 11, which that left her body so badly damaged she lives with a colostomy bag and will never be able to have children.
The now 49-year-old credits her multiple personalities with keeping her alive, news.com.au reported.
The District Court in Sydney heard Haynes had been threatened "multiple times" in prison and spent significant time in his cell by himself, monitored by CCTV after he tried to take his life in 2017.
Earlier in court, the Crown said that should not affect his sentence.
"It's unsurprising given the offences he's been convicted of that he has not found fame with fellow inmates," the Crown said.
It took Judge Huggett more than an hour to run through the years of abuse Ms Haynes survived, the details of which were so horrific people in court were seen shaking their heads and dropping their face into their hands.
Richard Haynes, 74, raped and sexually abused his daughter, Jennifer (bottom right), in Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s when she was aged between four and 11. Photo / Supplied
Judge Huggett described the abuse as "completely abhorrent and appalling", "demeaning and cruel" and said all 25 offences to which Haynes pleaded guilty were "extremely grave".
She told the court "no sentence can completely reflect the far-reaching impacts" of Haynes' offending, admitting she was forced to put aside how she felt about the abuse as a "human being" to remain impartial as a judge.
Referring to his age, Judge Huggett said it was likely Haynes "is not released from custody before he passes away".
Judge Huggett told the court, after reading Haynes' psychological report, there was "nothing" in his personal history that "explained or mitigated" the seven years of abuse.
"The only available conclusion is he was sexually attracted to his young daughter and that he derived a perverted gratification from exerting complete power over his vulnerable daughter," she said.
Haynes wore a prison-green jumper today, leaning back in the dock, closing his eyes and staring at his hands while Judge Huggett ran through the damning evidence against him.
The court heard Haynes had been threatened "multiple times" in prison and spent significant time in his cell by himself, monitored by CCTV after he tried to take his life in 2017.
Ms Haynes sat in the front row of the court, surrounded by supporters and staring fiercely ahead.
The 49-year-old broke down a handful of times as Judge Huggett ran through the 25 charges in detail.
The court heard Ms Haynes would often pass out due to the violent nature of the sexual abuse, which started in 1974 when her father used the then four-year-old's hand puppet Sweep to muffle his daughter's screams and cries.
Another time, when Ms Haynes was barely four years old and was forced to touch her father inappropriately. The abuse continued until 1981, when Ms Haynes was 11, after which the family moved back to England.
In sentencing Haynes in Sydney's Downing Centre today, Judge Huggett lashed the 74-year-old for not immediately pleading guilty, forcing his daughter to take the stand.
Judge Huggett described it as a "distressing experience" and an "exacting process" for Ms Haynes.
Haynes crumbled early in his trial, pleading guilty in March hours after he was faced with his daughter taking the stand and delivering her testimony in her many different personalities.
Jeni Haynes was allowed to let six of her personalities testify against her father. Photo / Nine
Haynes was extradited from the UK in February 2017 to face dozens of charges of rape, buggery and indecent assault against Ms Haynes in the 1970s and 1980s.
Ms Haynes developed more than 2500 personalities as a result of the trauma, using more than 30 of them in May to deliver her 17-page victim impact statement, which touched on the seven years of terror and horrific injuries she is forced to live with today.
Ms Haynes told reporters back in May that she had to do everything "not to slap the smirk off his face" after her 74-year-old father sat listening to her detail the damaging abuse with a slight smile on his face.
To survive and "keep Jeni alive", Ms Haynes developed multiple personality disorder, also known as dissociative identity disorder. She has more than 2500 personalities, referred to as "alters".
Judge Huggett described Ms Haynes' disorder as a "sophisticated coping mechanism".
Ms Haynes referenced her father's late guilty plea in her victim impact statement earlier this year.
" A remorseful man would've pleaded guilty earlier — not maximise trauma by forcing me to testify," she said.
