Clifford Zane McLean found guilty of rape in Bundaberg trial

Chilling details of the night a young traveller was picked up by a predatory stranger she’d thought was a taxi driver and violently raped have been revealed. WARNING: Distressing content

A young woman’s life has forever been changed by a horrific rape in Bundaberg, a court has heard.

A young British backpacker believed the white car she was getting into in the Bundaberg CBD was a taxi that would get her home safely after a night out.

Instead, a predatory stranger would drive the 22-year-old to a ‘dark, lonely’ park and violently rape her despite repeated pleas for him to stop.

Chilling details of the attack were read out in Bundaberg District Court where Clifford Zane McLean, 39, was sentenced after being found guilty by a jury of rape.

A victim impact statement described the anguish and mental health implications suffered by the once optimistic and outgoing woman after the assault on April 14, 2019.

“I have nightmares most nights, I wake up in a panic, struggling to catch my breath, I suffer with depression as well as … anxiety and panic attacks …,” the statement read.

“What I went through, I will have to live with for the rest of my life, which is a tough realisation.

“I don't feel I can go on most days. I feel empty, a shell of my former self.

“He took away my dignity, my self worth, my adventurous personality.

“I'll never be the same again because of the horrific things I experienced at the hands of a cruel, evil, selfish, despicable person.”

The court heard McLean had targeted the woman with the intention of raping her.

Crown Prosecutor Alexandra Baker said McLean had shown no remorse, violently pulling his victim from the vehicle and causing her to fall to the ground on the night of the attack.

In addition to being raped by a man who also did not use protection, the victim suffered injuries, some too disturbing to mention, in what Judge Moynihan noted was excessive force which even went beyond achieving the defendant’s sick intention of rape.

Ms Baker said McLean had an extensive criminal history including crimes against women, there was “no evidence of prospects of rehabilitation” and that he was a “danger to society”.

Barrister Nick Larter said McLean was a father of five.

Baptised in 2015, the court heard McLean was a church regular and had had attended Christian mission trips to indigenous communities alongside a pastor.

McLean had spent time in his life in Cherbourg, Townsville and Brisbane and despite a troubled upbringing, had worked in farming, construction, cleaning and had some training in support work.

In sentencing, Judge Martin Moynihan, outlined the horrific nature of the offending and the impact on the young woman.

“This was a violent and painful experience for the complainant,” he said.

“She feared for her life.

“This was predatory behaviour, you obviously recognised that the complainant was, due to her being alone and intoxicated, vulnerable.”

McLean was sentenced to 10 years’ prison with 913 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served.