Kevin Bernard Keogh charged with indecent treatment of children under 12 and attempted rape
A frail elderly man is on trial in Bundaberg for the alleged indecent treatment and attempted rape of a girl on her grandparents’ veranda in the late 70s.
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An elderly man is on trial at a Bundaberg court for the alleged indecent treatment of a girl on her grandparents’ veranda more than 45 years ago.
Kevin Bernard Keogh, 81, pleaded not guilty at Bundaberg District Court to two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12 and one count of attempted rape.
Mr Keogh, a small frail man reliant on a walking cane, sat in the dock as Crown prosecutor Jodie Crane summarised the alleged incident to the jury.
The court heard the alleged incident took place in the 1970s when the complainant was a seven-year-old girl at her grandparents’ home in the Bundaberg region.
Ms Crane said the girl had travelled home on a school bus on the day of the alleged incident.
The girl got off the school bus and walked up the driveway to her grandparents’ house to find that they were not at home, Ms Crane said.
Ms Crane said she sat down on the veranda next to the front door when Mr Keogh approached her.
The jury was told Mr Keogh took her to a corner of the veranda that was concealed from view from the road and driveway and allegedly indecently touched and attempted to rape the girl.
Ms Crane told the court that after the alleged acts, Mr Keogh told the girl words to the effect of “this was their secret” and “not to tell anybody”.
The girl told her grandmother what happened when she returned home later that day, but her grandmother did not take her to the doctor or report the incident to the police.
After an unsuccessful attempt to report the incident to police in 1987, the complainant made a report to Queensland Police in 2016 which was subsequently investigated.
The complainant gave a victim impact statement via videolink before a closed court.
The trial continues.
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