Fears he may have also preyed on girls in Mapleton & Maleny

by Janine Hill

It took over 30 years but justice has finally caught up with John Richard Danel Voronoff.

The 77-year-old was sentenced on 31 July to seven-and-a-half years jail for child sex offences dating back to the late 1980s and early 2000s.

Voronoff found himself in the Maroochydore District Court thanks to four women, Riye Arai-Coupe, 37, her younger sister Mika, 34, friend Phoebe Staggard, 42, and Mika’s childhood best friend Ebony-Rose Greene, 34, who were determined to hold him accountable for crimes committed against them as children.

The identities of sex offence victims cannot normally be published under Queensland law but the four women have identified themselves to publicise the case.

Riye was seven and Mika three when Voronoff, who was in a relationship with their mother, began his abuse against them.

Their mother did not learn of the abuse until afterwards and although they discussed reporting it to police, they did not go ahead until 2021.

“It took me a long time to build up the courage to report it. Our family has always been here for each other, and while it took me 25 years, I am so proud that we finally did this, Riye said.

“It’s been confronting but has also given me a lot of closure.”

The girls were living in the Cooran, Traveston and Kin Kin areas when they were abused by Voronoff but Riye believes he may have had access to children elsewhere on the Sunshine Coast, including Mapleton or Maleny, where Riye believes he has been in other relationships.

“Over the years, we’ve learnt he had a reputation of going from woman to woman that had young children,” she said.

“We have come forward publicly to let the community know what happened. For anyone out there considering doing the same, we hope that they can take strength from the fact that we have and we’ve been able to do something about it.”

Riye is a mother and a businesswoman but has lived with trust and intimacy issues as a result of Voronoff’s abuse and events in everyday life can still trigger the trauma.

“But you can still get on and enjoy your life,” she said.

“As a result, I’ve become a very resilient person and I’m fortunate that I’m now able to talk about it with a level of detachment.”

Voronoff pleaded guilty to 24 charges of indecent treatment charges and one of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child. He will be eligible for parole on 31 January, 2026.

Riye hoped the case would teach other child abusers that their crimes could catch up with them at any time.

Coming forward has been difficult but also empowering for her and she hoped it would help other victims.

“For me, personally, it’s also about giving others the strength in whatever shape or form I can, to shine a light on something that’s often considered to have a stigma or be taboo,” she said.

“The more we can talk about it, the more we shed light on it, the better it is for others.”

Riye is willing to share her experience of the process with other victims and can be contacted on 0422 684 454.