Maya's stepfather had sex with her when she was a teenager, but judge doesn't grant extension of restraining order

WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.

“My girlfriend” was the nickname Maya*’s stepfather – who was more than twice her age – gave her when she was a teenager.

The woman, now in her 20s, claims he isolated her from family and friends and sexually assaulted her for years while she lived at his home.

She fled to a women's shelter after having her child, fearing he would abuse her as well.

While giving evidence in a Perth court earlier this year, Maya's stepfather admitted having sex with her when she was under the age of consent.

Yet when she sought to extend a domestic violence restraining order (FVRO) against him earlier this year, she was rebuffed.

Although Maya feared for her safety, the magistrate was convinced that her stepfather no longer posed a threat to her.

“I accept that the accused committed acts of domestic violence,” Magistrate Steven Malley told the court in January.

“However, the applicant, in my view, has failed to convince me that if left unchecked he is likely to commit further acts.”

'I will protect you'

Maya was 10 years old when her mother started dating her stepfather. He offered to find her a job when she turned 16 and suggested she live with him to be closer to her work.

One night, 17-year-old Maya walked into the living room to find her stepfather sitting on the couch in the dark.

“I’m going to protect you, you know,” she remembers him telling him after sitting down.

“I’ll make sure everything’s okay…I want to be your first time.”

His father-in-law gave a different version of events that evening. He insisted the sex was consensual. Magistrate Malley described this assertion as “false”.

“A child of tender age on whom he allegedly exerted effort given the age difference and the suggestion that she was a consenting partner, in my opinion, to a sexual relationship borders on the bizarre,” a- he declared.

In Western Australia, the age of consent is 18 if there is a particular relationship in which one person is in a position of authority over the other.

Maya's stepfather was asked if he waited until she reached 16 – otherwise known as the legal age of consent – to have sex with the teenager.

“No, I was waiting until she was – ideally, I was waiting until she was 18,” he told the court.

Maya says she reported the abuse to WA Police in 2021, but there was not enough evidence to press charges.

Following her stepfather's testimony in court, WA Police confirmed the Sex Assault Squad had reopened its investigation.

Restraining order canceled

Maya says she became dependent on her stepfather after having a baby.

“I had nothing, I had no one, so I just had to stay,” she told the court.

Eventually, she left with their daughter and was granted an FVRO, but her request for an extension after her stepfather initiated family court proceedings two years later was denied.

“It was terrifying to be in the same room with him,” Maya says, reflecting on the hearing.

“I felt like a child – small and weak.”

His helplessness was confused with the court's decision.

“Given the passage of time and the lack of consistent behavior,” Magistrate Malley said at the time.

“It cannot reasonably be suggested that the respondent is likely to commit further acts.”

“Living in secret”

Figures obtained by the ABC show around a fifth of FVRO applications lodged in the first four months of this year were rejected.

Less than half of the 4,741 requests resulted in a final order or agreement to conduct.

Maya's attorney, Cally Hannah, says it's not unusual for courts to deny the extension of an FVRO if the respondent didn't violate it, but her client's case was serious.

“[Maya] was living in secret, refusing to share her address with the respondent, on the grounds that she did not feel safe,” Ms Hannah said.

“The parties had recently commenced family law proceedings, so they were bound to interact quite frequently… it will undoubtedly be a lengthy process.

“(Maya) has the right to feel safe.”

*The woman's name has been changed for privacy reasons.

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