A man has been sentenced to six years in prison after admitting to having sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old stepdaughter, resulting in her pregnancy.

Justice Ann Marie Smith imposed the sentence in the High Court after the accused, who cannot be identified to protect the victim’s identity, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual intercourse with a stepchild.

The court heard that between July and August 2021, the then 37-year-old man had sexual intercourse with the teenager, who later became pregnant. At the time, he was married to the girl’s mother.

The matter came to the attention of authorities after the victim’s school reported the pregnancy to police in November 2021. Investigators were initially given false information about the identity of the child’s father, but subsequent inquiries determined those accounts were untrue.

Police intercepted the accused at the airport in December 2021 as he attempted to leave the country.

He denied any knowledge of who had fathered the child.