Mount Gambier man, 19, has rape charges dropped but faces new child exploitation allegations

A 19-year-old alleged child sex offender has had a major development in his case as new claims come to light.

A South East man accused of sexually abusing a child for months has had his most serious charges downgraded, while new allegations have come to light.

The 19 year old, who has not been named to protect the identity of his alleged victim, has had fresh child exploitation charges brought against him.

The man is currently facing one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a person under the age of 17, one count of possess child exploitation material and two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17.

The accused previously faced six charges with two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and one count of incite an indecent act being dropped.

The accused will remain on home detention bail after his charges were downgraded in the Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday.

The man is currently facing one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child, one count of possess child exploitation material and two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.

A 19-year-old South East man has been granted home detention bail on numerous child sex charges. Picture Arj Ganesan

Allegations regarding possession of child exploitation material have only recently come to light and allegedly occurred in December last year.

A police prosecutor previously told the court the man had allegedly groomed his alleged victim on Snapchat

“We know in the original allegations the potential grooming occurred via an online method,” the police prosecutor said.

The alleged unlawful sexual offending occurred between July and November 2021.

Court documents alleged the accused engaged in a number of sexual acts with his alleged victim.

At a previous court appearance, Magistrate Koula Kossiavelos granted home detention bail despite saying she had lingering fears as his nominated address was “close to the alleged victim’s house”.

She also raised issues about young people visiting the home.

A number of strict bail conditions were imposed, including banning him from contacting children online.

He also cannot be in the presence of a child under the age of 18, work in or apply to work in child related work and will be subject to electronic monitoring.

The man will next front court in August.