Brock Andrew McDonald pleads guilty after random horror attack on young girl
A Bundaberg man has been released from jail after pleading guilty to a terrifying attack on a teen girl, wrapping rope around her neck and throwing her in the back of his car, leaving her with lasting trauma. DETAILS
Police & Courts
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A man who attacked an 18-year-old girl and wrapped a rope around her neck while she was trying to walk home from a night out has learnt his fate in court.
Brock Andrew McDonald, 44, pleaded guilty to charges of deprivation of liberty and assault occasioning bodily harm in relation to the random attack on October 21, 2023.
The court heard McDonald parked his vehicle in an area with no streetlights on Park St, Bundaberg, about 2.50am.
He approached the 18-year-old victim, who was not known to him, and wrapped a rope around her neck.
The court heard McDonald then forced the girl into the back of his white Toyota Corolla, pushing her face down.
He told her not to look at him and knelt over her before removing the rope from her neck.
The victim eventually managed to escape, grabbed her phone, hid in a bush, and called for help.
She was left with rope burns around her neck and abrasions to her right knee and thigh.
In a statement to the court, the victim’s mother said her daughter had been deeply affected by the attack.
“This was the exact moment Brock McDonald stole my daughter’s innocence,” she said.
The victim also provided a statement, sharing that she now struggles with relationships and experiences panic attacks whenever she sees white cars.
During the proceedings, Judge David Kent asked the victim how she had escaped the vehicle.
The young woman said she could not remember.
Judge Kent said McDonald had a prior sexual assault charge in New South Wales for which he had been found guilty but not previously dealt with.
The court heard that McDonald has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
His lawyer said he was now living with his mother in Bundaberg while undergoing treatment, and had previously worked as a qualified barista.
Judge Kent described the incident as a random and “terrifying abduction”.
McDonald was sentenced to two-and-a-half years on parole, with 413 days considered time served.
He was released on Wednesday without recorded convictions.
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