The man, who has permanent name suppression, was convicted of one charge of sexual violation and 14 charges of indecent assault between June 25, 2010, and June 24, 2020.
The mother and grandfather of the girl read out their victim impact statements at the sentencing of the man in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.
The grandfather said he now found it hard to hug his granddaughter.
"Í feel very uncomfortable wrapping my arms around her due to what you’ve done to her. You’ve stolen something precious away from me as a grandfather," he said.
When he looked back at photographs of his granddaughter, all he could think about now was what the man had done to her, "not the loving memories of a beautiful little girl".
He said the man’s offending was a "downright disgrace" and he did not deserve to be called a father.
The girl’s mother, the ex-partner of the defendant, said she was confused and angry at what had happened.
"It makes me feel sick to the stomach."
She believed her daughter had blocked out what had happened to her.
The girl did not want counselling, and instead just wanted to talk to her mother and grandmother if she needed.
However, her mother said counselling would always be available to her, when the time was right.
Her children were happy to change their names and understood they would not be seeing their father again, she said.
Judge Russell Walker said the defendant had sexual trauma and other dysfunctional sexual behaviour resulting from abuse he had suffered as a young person.
His offending had been prolonged and serious.
However, it was an unusual case as he had presented himself to police to confess what he had done.
The judge said a sentence of imprisonment would not guarantee the man would receive the rehabilitation he needed.
"This is a critical determination of the decision I’ve come to."
He sentenced the man to 12 months’ home detention and ordered him to pay $15,000 emotional harm reparation to the victim.
The judge also ordered the sentence be judicially monitored, which meant a report would be sent to the him every three months to ensure the man was complying with all conditions of his sentence. If he did not, the man could be recalled and re-sentenced, he said.
