Scott Harrison granted home detention bail, accused of being involved in the false imprisonment of a woman

Shocking messages suggest a group of men plotted to grab a woman off the street and stuff her into the boot of a car – and police allege they carried out the plan.

A man has been bailed for his alleged role in abducting a woman, after the court heard a series of text messages police allege reveal his group’s sinister plans.

Scott Harrison, 35, applied for home detention bail in the Adelaide District Court on Thursday, for his alleged involvement in a terrifying hostage situation at Exeter.

Scott Harrison was granted home detention bail in the Adelaide District Court on Thursday. Photo: Facebook

Harrison is charged alongside Joshua Barry, 33, Matthew Pirri, 39, Reon Gardiner, 40, Michael Geoffrey Stewart, 36 and Aaron Davies, who had been extradited from Queensland.

A prosecutor opposed the application, saying the allegations were serious.

The court heard the alleged victim was taken on December 7, 2019.

“She was assaulted and forcibly taken from the street and held against her will for approximately 23 hours,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard Harrison’s mobile phone was seized when he was arrested.

“It contained screenshots of Facebook profiles with names similar to the complainant’s Facebook profile, which on the prosecution case is evidence that he was attempting to locate the complainant,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard Harrison allegedly received a message from Stewart on December 4, asking “how’d you go finding that s*** bro?”

“The accused replied with screenshots of the Facebook profiles and a message saying the moll gets around … and goes on to say that to suggest essentially that he will get back on to looking for her,” the prosecutor said

Harrison then sent a message to Barry on December 6, allegedly saying “this little gutter rat is hard to find, just kept missing her. I’ve got a mate going to jump on the Gawler trains soon, I think she will be heading north. Will put mutt in boot and bring her to you”.

“The allegations do involve the complainant being put into a boot and taken … to Barry’s address,” the prosecutor said.

The court heard the alleged victim had positively identified Harrison.

“The accused’s version to police when he was arrested was that he saw a girl being abused in the street and intervened to come to her rescue, which in my submission is inconsistent with the evidence,” the prosecutor said.

Harrison, of Taperoo, and Pirri, of Two Wells, are charged with false imprisonment and causing harm, while Gardiner, of Hindmarsh Island, is charged with false imprisonment. Stewart, of Littlehampton, and Barry, of Newport, are charged with causing harm.

Kate Budzynski, for Harrison, told the court Harrison had originally been granted home detention bail but had breached it by returning a positive drug test.

“He accepts that he has an issue with drug use from a very young age,” she said.

“Completely ceasing that drug use is difficult for him but he is making productive steps to address those drug issues and has been doing so since December of last year.”

The court heard Harrison’s charges were listed for trial for June, next year.

“He has a supportive partner, she is prosocial,” Ms Budzynski said.

Judge Julie McIntyre granted Harrison bail to Semaphore Park.

“These are serious allegations and your compliance with home detention bail on the last occasion was not ideal – you’ve got to do better this time,” she said.

Judge McIntyre ordered that Harrison have no contact with his co-accused or the alleged victim.