Disgraced British aviator Charles Batham is behind bars, but the trauma remains real and raw for the two girls he abused.
District Court Judge Lisa Tovey referred to them repeatedly on Tuesday as she handed the 77-year-old the nine-year jail term that makes it statistically unlikely he'll ever be free again.
"Your offending has had a profound effect on both their lives," she said, as Batham sat hunched in the dock.
"You, in my view, sacrificed the innocence of two young girls in the pursuit of your own sexual perversion."
As he sat in the courtroom, Batham appeared healthy and tanned for a 77-year-old who'd spent more than a year in jail.
His distinctive ginger mop of hair was faded to grey, but his posh British accent was evident when he muttered at Judge Tovey to speak up.
'It's a beautiful day to be alive'
The sentencing was long and went into graphic detail about the abuse Batham inflicted on the two young girls.
The court heard both were being raised by single parents in the sunny Kimberley town of Broome; both families were befriended by Batham, who presented as a kind, generous, if eccentric, figure.
Both young women submitted harrowing victim impact statements to the court, describing their fear, confusion and residual trauma.
The pair have never met, but they described eerily similar experiences in the decade after Batham left their lives — the nightmares, the inability to eat and sleep, and the paralysing inability to trust people and form new relationships.
In a statement to the ABC, one of those young girls — now a mother herself, living interstate — was determined to move forward in life.
"I'm proud of myself and it's a beautiful day to be alive," she wrote.
"The jail term is disappointing, as he could spend less time in prison than he spent on the run.
Timeline of a fugitive
1996 - Arrives in Broome. Lives in a converted red London bus and starts micro-light trike flying school
August 2010 - Child Protection Authorities report rumours about Batham to WA Police.
November 2010 - Detectives search his properties, seizing computers and charging him with possessing child exploitation material and exposing a child under 13 to indecent matter
December 2010 - Batham appears briefly before Broome Magistrates Court and is released on bail.
February 2011 - Batham flees Australia on an Air Asia flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur
February 2011 – WA Police realise Batham fled when he fails to appear at Broome court hearing. Bench warrant issued and international search begins
April 2011 – Batham is tracked travelling from Britain to France, giving immigration officials a fake name
Early 2013 – Batham is located in Turkey and is arrested by local police, but released on bail and again flees the country
Early 2014 – Batham successfully applies for a new British passport to be issued under the name Charles Edwin Shannon
2014 - 2020 – Batham is unsighted, and the trail goes cold
February 2020 – ABC Kimberley publishes an investigation detailing Batham’s escape and the desire of victims for him to be recaptured
March – Story generates tip-offs from across Europe that are shared with WA police and result in his arrest at Caorle, Italy
November 2020 – WA Police detectives travel to Italy and extradite Batham
June 2021 – Batham pleads guilty to more than 30 child sex offences
November 2021 – Batham is sentenced to nine years and two months' jail
Unconventional, adventurous past
The five-hour sentencing revealed plenty of new information about the mysterious businessman, including decades spent gallivanting around the world on motorbikes and yachts prior to his arrival in Broome.
Batham has not commented publicly since his arrest, but his letter to the District Court was revealing.
"Regarding my disgraceful conduct, there is simply no excuse," he wrote.
"I have no adequate words to use as an explanation for this dreadful behaviour which was totally out of character.
"No mitigating circumstances can be attached to schooling or my home upbringing … I therefore take full responsibility and the consequences.
"However, you can be sure that it could never reoccur."
Judge Tovey accepted Batham was remorseful, but pointed out he'd never apologised to his victims and rejected his claim that his abuse of the two girls was out of character.
Not everyone happy with sentence
Broome locals are glad to see the case closed, but not all are happy with the sentence.
The jail term of nine years and two months will be backdated to Batham's arrest, so that with parole he'll be considered for release in five and a half years.
Broome resident Steve Tucker knew Batham in the early 2000s, and says it's disappointing he may one day walk free.
"I'm very pleased that after trying to evade conviction, justice is finally served," Mr Tucker said.
