The Shailer Park man abused the girls as each reached puberty - two at their home and the third at a hotel room provided by the Treasury Casino for big gamblers.

He repeatedly told the girls that it was "for their own good".

But on Monday Judge Brian Harrison described the actions as "inexcusable" and "totally contrary to the norms of proper parenting".

The man was given a sentence of three and a half years - but had already served 13 months in jail, so the rest of his sentence was suspended to allow him to undergo sex offender counselling.

Despite initially telling police that at least one of his victims "liked it", the man told the court on Monday that he was very sorry for what he had done, that he loves his wife and children, and that the family was "making progress for reconciliation".

The court was told the man had initially assaulted his eldest daughter, who was then aged between 12 and 14, as she lay on her bed doing homework at their Shailer Park home.

He fondled her breasts and genitals and, after she objected, he stopped and never assaulted her again.

However, a year or so later he repeated the offences against his middle daughter, as she was lying in her bed.

The second teen also objected but he later told police he had only done it "because (the girl) was having trouble sleeping" and he thought "an orgasm would help her."

In the third case, the man had picked up his daughter from school soon after her 13th birthday, and took her to a hotel room at the Treasury Casino for the weekend.

When he groped her through her clothes, the teenager tried to call her mum for assistance - but was unable to get through, because the pin number of the mobile phone had been changed.

As her father tried to strip off her clothes, she struggled - at which point the man slapped her and told her it was "for her own good".

The girl was assaulted before being able to phone her mother the next day.

The family apparently decided to try to deal with the situation themselves and didn't report the matter to authorities for 12 months, but eventually a friend of one of the victims told the school, which was legally required to report the matter to police and the man was arrested.

He had been in custody ever since, and when he was sentenced on Monday, he had already served 382 days - which Judge Brian Harrison told him would be the extent of his incarceration provided the man met strict sentencing conditions.

Judge Harrison said it was in the community's best interests if the man underwent sex offender therapy but the treatment would take the man past his sentence, if time served were taken into account.

Accordingly, he said, the sentence would be suspended immediately provided the man agreed to strict conditions.

The man was ordered to undergo sex offender treatment immediately, to regularly report to police, and not to break any other laws for the duration of his sentence.

The 38-year-old pledged to do that, telling the judge "I am very sorry for what I have done. I will never, ever do it again, you will never ever see me in court again."

"I can't condone what I have done. I love my wife and children, and have spoken with and written to them telling them I am sorry. We are making progress for reconciliation," he said.

In sentencing, Judge Harrison told the man that he recognised his co-operation with police, in volunteering information that his daughters had not told them.

He also said that because the man had co-operated, the girls didn't have to testify, and that would also go in his favour.

However, Judge Harrison told the man that he was "a loser" as shown by his heavy gambling habit - a habit that had led to the casino providing him with the room where the final assaults took place.

He told the man that his justifications, which a psychiatric report had described as abhorrent and deviant, were no excuse. But he said there was considerable support from the man's family.

Graham Cairns Fairfax Radio 4BC