Chad Raymond Hewitt not guilty of child sexual assault charges

A jury has found a Brisbane man did not sexually assault a nine-year-old boy, following a two-day trial in Kingaroy where the man insisted his interactions were innocent.

Not guilty: Chad Raymond Hewitt at the Kingaroy courthouse.

A man who became friends with a family and was then charged with sexual assault of one of their children was found not guilty by a jury in Kingaroy District Court on Thursday, July 11.

Chad Raymond Hewitt, 38, always maintained his innocence after being charged with one count of indecent treatment of a child under 12 in a trial that lasted two days.

The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for less than four hours on Thursday before unanimously finding Mr Hewitt not guilty.
He remained stoic as the verdict was delivered, while his supporters, visibly emotional, shared hugs before departing the courthouse.

The court heard Mr Hewitt would regularly drive from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to visit and stay with his friends in the South Burnett.

He also became close with their next-door neighbours where he was a regular participant in family gatherings, often joining both households for barbecues and other activities.

The boy’s mother testified on Wednesday, highlighting the bond Mr Hewitt had formed with all the children.

“They would climb on him … be on his shoulders,” she said.

She said Mr Hewitt would even walk the children to school during his visits.

She said her son had a closer bond with Mr Hewitt compared to her other children.

“A lot more than the other children, they were very close,” she said.

“Lots of carrying, cuddling, lifting, very hands on”.

She also said her son and Mr Hewitt connected online, playing games like Fortnite together.

The mother recounted an alleged incident following a joint birthday party between the neighbours when Mr Hewitt stayed the night on their couch.

Both parents testified to hearing sounds that suggested the boy was being tickled and laughing with the mother describing the sounds as “playful”.

Not guilty: Chad Raymond Hewitt at the Kingaroy courthouse.

The father also described an early morning encounter where he allegedly saw Mr Hewitt with his arm around his son and his other hand down his own pants but said he “didn’t think anything of it” and went to bed.

However, during cross-examination by Mr Hewitt’s barrister, Jacob Robson, the father acknowledged he did not include that detail in his initial police statement and clarified that Hewitt’s hand was merely at the top of his pants and he appeared to be asleep.

The mother testified when they questioned their son about the tickling, the boy allegedly responded, “he sometimes touches me where he wasn’t supposed to”.

The mother further recounted her son describing incidents of “licking, squeezing, and touching”.

A video interview of the boy was presented to the jury.

On Thursday, Mr Hewitt took the stand in his defence, firmly denying all allegations against him.

He stated that any “horseplay” with the boy was similar to interactions he had with his godchildren, nieces, nephews, and the other children.

He described a “licking” game involving some adults and children, where misbehaving children would get their faces “licked,” which he conceded was “gross” but insisted was not sinister.

Kingaroy Courthouse. File Photo.

Mr Hewitt explained he only stayed overnight at the neighbour’s house because the children were insistent.

“They had been pestering their parents for me to have a sleepover … and me for about a year,” Mr Hewitt said.

“We had a conversation about it … to shut them up.”

He said he slept on an empty section of the couch, which he believed was set up for him, while some of the other children slept on different parts of the lounge suite.

He said the next morning the boy was jumping on him, trying to get him to watch a YouTube video and was being “annoying”.

To get the boy away, he tickled him, he said.

He also mentioned the only time he played Fortnite online with the boy was when the boy’s father was present, and they would all play together.

“(His father) wouldn’t allow him on the internet without him,” Mr Hewitt said.

In his closing arguments, Mr Robson pointed out that during the boy’s interview with the police, the officer repeatedly directed the boy to discuss Mr Hewitt “touching his privates” when the boy tried to talk about other things, suggesting that the officer might have been leading the boy.

Mr Robson also highlighted inconsistencies in the prosecution’s timeline and described the boy’s account as “vague and confusing”.

It took the jury about three and a half hours before finding Mr Hewitt not guilty of the charge.

Originally published as Chad Raymond Hewitt not guilty of child sexual assault charges