Extradited man on 37 historical rape offences granted bail
A man accused of a grievous breach of trust by raping and offering a 17-year-old girl in his care as a prize in a card game has applied for bail after charged with 37 historical rape offences.
Cairns
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A man accused of a grievous breach of trust by raping and offering a 17-year-old girl in his care as a prize in a poker game has been released on bail in a shock decision by a Cairns magistrate.
The 75-year-old man, who cannot be named because identifying him would identify his alleged victim, was extradited to Cairns from Streaky Bay South Australia last Thursday.
The man has been charged with 25 counts of rape, 11 counts of indecent assault, one count of deprivation of liberty of a 17-year-old girl following a two year police investigation.
The historical charges date back to 1978 and 1979 and although the complainant, who was a ward of the state at the time, voiced allegations with the Department of Child Safety, it was not until 2021 that reports to police were made.
At a lengthy application for bail on Friday before Magistrate Susan Warrington, police prosecutor sergeant Stewart Clyde-Smith objected to granting of bail based on the seriousness of the charges, cross-border jurisdiction issues and that the accused may tip-off co-accused yet to be charged by police.
The man also presented an unacceptable flight risk, according to Sgt Clyde-Smith.
“The allegations contained in these facts are probably what could be easily described as the most serious example of that charge,” he said.
“There are examples of tying up, allowing other people to … essentially treating a young lady as a prize in a card game, certainly against her will and in some instances using very, very violent threats where the complainant had a gun pressed to her head and believed, according to her statement, that she was to be killed.”
Sgt Clyde-Smith said it was “very concerning” that the alleged victim was advised not pursue criminal action with police after initial complaints were made to the Department of Child Protection.
“Certainly those complaints were made to her support workers and counsellors at the time,” he said.
In opposing bail Sgt Clyde-Smith told the court it would be alleged that the defendant abused a position of trust and couldn’t be relied upon to reappear on his own undertaking if released.
“She was placed in the defendant’s care in a position of trust … that trust based on the facts that are currently before the court, was very much abused,” he said.
“The court must have regard to the severity of the offending which I’ll certainly say is extreme.
“Essentially what the court is being asked to do is grant this defendant bail in another jurisdiction, which I certainly say is an extreme risk that the court could not possibly accept.”
Sgt Clyde-Smith told the court while on a boat the defendant allegedly told the complainant to “watch the clock” while threatening to shoot the 17-year-old and throw her body overboard.
Defence lawyer Bebe Mellick argued his client had strong ties to his community of Streaky Bay as well as the support of his wife and children while tendering an expired passport to demonstrate the 75-year-old was not an international flight risk.
“So effectively he’s been out of trouble for the last 21 years and has lived at the same address for the last 15 years,” he said.
“Insofar as the likelihood of not turning up because of the seriousness of the charges in my respectful submission, at the highest is extremely low and otherwise non-existent.
“The fact that a person leads lives interstate should not be a factor or an aggravating feature against a person being granted bail.”
Describing allegations against the 75-year-old man as “horrific,” Magistrate Warrington released the defendant on bail with conditions including that he not approach the complainant, apply for a passport and he would report to the Streaky Bay police station three times a week.
Exasperated detectives that flew with the extradited man to Cairns last week expressed visible disappointment that the man was free on bail until his next court appearance.
The matter will next come before the court on July 14.
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Originally published as Extradited man on 37 historical rape offences granted bail
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