- First prisoner to be granted assisted dying in NSW
The daughter of a vile paedophile who sexually abused her and 13 others has demanded justice after learning he used Voluntary Assisted Dying while behind bars to 'take the easy way out'.
Daniel Hume, 55, a convicted sex offender jailed for decades of abuse against children, died in hospital on August 28 after becoming the first prisoner in New South Wales to use the controversial scheme.
He had served just seven years of his 30-year sentence when, suffering from terminal cancer he was granted permission to take the 'easy way out'.
Now his daughter, Nevaeh Jett, one of his 14 victims, has waived her right for anonymity to speak to Daily Mail, saying the decision has left her reliving the childhood torment.
'The sense of justice I have been clinging to has been ripped away and he has taken the easy way out,' Ms Jett said.
'He should be living the rest of his life in jail and he has won. No-one even told me it was happening.'
Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in NSW is a legal end-of-life option that allows eligible individuals to request medical assistance to die, typically by taking a prescribed medication.
To be eligible, a person must have an advanced, progressive, and incurable disease, illness, or medical condition expected to cause death within six months, and be experiencing suffering that cannot be relieved in a way acceptable to them.
Daniel Hume (above) used Voluntary Assisted Dying while imprisoned for multiple sexual offences
Hume's daughter Nevaeh Jett, one of his 14 victims, has wavered her right for anonymity to speak out
Nevaeh suffered for years at the hands of her evil father (pictured together above)
The process is lengthy and requires a series of requests and assessments by two doctors before a medication is administered at a time chosen by the patient.
Ms Jett, 27, revealed her abuse at the hands of her father began when she was a child, when concerns were raised by staff at her childcare centre after they noted unusual marks under her nappy.
But no charges were laid against the father despite their concerns.
She believes he started raping her when she was seven years old.
When she was 10, two other victims came forward to report Hume and child protection authorities briefly removed her.
Again Hume wasn't charged and he regained custody of her.
Not long after, she recalls her father urging her to befriend a little girl in the park and it was only years later she realised it was so he could lure her into their home under the guise of a 'play date.'
'He was a vile opportunist who created opportunities at every turn,' she said.
Nevaeh said her father started raping her when she was aged seven
Fourteen victims testified against Hume
'Once he even got some of my friends to climb a ladder just so he could look up their skirts.'
Ms Jett tried to repeatedly raise the alarm, but says she was ignored.
'I tried to come out multiple times but I wasn't believed. I learnt to shut up and bury it,' she said.
The abuse intensified during her teenage years with Hume 'forcing pills' down her throat to make her drowsy at night.
'It wasn't just the sexual assaults, it was psychological abuse too. He controlled everything. He was aggressive, he would spit, yell and scream,' she said.
'Something as small as waking him with the sound of the microwave was enough to set him off.
'I lived in fear and even now the voice I hear in my nightmares is his.'
At 17, she joined the Australian Army in a desperate attempt to escape his evil clutches.
Neveah said she tried to raise the alarm many times, but was repeatedly ignored
The abuse intensified during her teenage years with Hume 'forcing pills' down her throat
Then three years later, in 2015 when two other victims came forward, she finally found the courage to speak.
What followed was years of agony, police interviews and court hearings while reliving every sordid detail.
'He fought it the whole way. He pled not guilty for three years and put us through hell,' Ms Jett said.
'It wasn't until the day we were due to read our victim impact statements that he finally pleaded guilty.'
Hume was sentenced to 30 years, equating to little more than two years of incarceration per victim.
Ms Jett believes there are dozens more victims who remain unnamed.
Then on Monday, she learned from a friend that her father was dead after she watched the news.
'That man never even pled guilty until the very last minute because he thought he could beat the system,' Ms Jett said.
Hume was sentenced to 30 years, equating to little more than two years of incarceration per victim
'He hated the system, he hated the police, he hated authority. His password for everything was 'Freedom' and he hated being in jail.
'Even behind bars he was always scheming, making constant complaints.
'Once he said he couldn't be there because the toilet paper made his butt hurt. That was the sort of man he was.
'This was one of his schemes and they fell for it.'
Ms Jett says she has been left devastated and suffering PTSD after Hume was granted the chance to die on his own terms.
'He won. He got off. He did not serve his sentence. It feels like a kick in the stomach,' she said.
'He died in comfort, pain-free, surrounded by his loved ones, who I believe were able to visit him in hospital multiple times.
'Yes he had throat cancer, but he was offered oesophagus surgery and that could have extended his life, but instead he was allowed to choose the easy way out.'
Ms Jett says she has been left devastated and suffering with PTSD
Ms Jett said given the opportunity she would have supported the death penalty for her father, but insisted assisted dying is not the same.
'He was in jail. He shouldn't have had choices,' Ms Jett said.
'So many people aren't given this chance, so many have been turned down, so why was he allowed?
'Getting his conviction was the hardest thing I will ever do. I'll live with the effects of his abuse for the rest of my life.
'Now I feel robbed that he did not serve out his natural life in prison and I was not even told. As far as I know, none of the victims were.
'If I had known, I would have fought to stop it.
'If cancer was going to kill him two weeks later anyway, then so be it. Why spend taxpayers' money on this man?'
Ms Jett is now committed to campaigning against prisoners being granted Voluntary Assisted Dying.
'I want a law change so this never happens again to anyone else,' she said.
'I don't want anyone to feel the way I do and I want compensation for the suffering for every one of his victims because all of the suffering during the court case was for nothing.
'And none of us deserved to find out this way.'
NSW Premier Chris Minns defended the decision, saying it was 'justifiable'.
'I think the reasons and the story behind it, I think are justifiable in the circumstances,' Mr Minns said.
'There is criteria in NSW to access voluntary assisted dying. I understand that criteria was followed, and I'm not proposing that we change the law.'
