Man accused of child rape to face Hervey Bay District Court

A mother has detailed how she found out her daughter was allegedly raped as a Dundowran man is told he will face a trial. WARNING: Distressing

A Fraser Coast man will face trial in Hervey Bay District Court for allegedly raping a young child twice.

A Dundowran man accused of raping a child twice will face a trial after the mother of the alleged victim detailed how the alleged offences came to light during a court hearing.

The 45-year-old man faced the Hervey Bay Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning charged with two counts of rape and one of indecent treatment of a child under 16 as a lineal descendant, guardian or carer.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between August 1 and December 14, 2022, at his former place of residence,

During the committal hearing, Police prosecutor Louese McConnell called upon the mother of the alleged victim and one of the police officers leading the investigation, Detective Senior Constable David France.

The Dundowran man will face trial in Hervey Bay District Court at a later date.

The mother told the court about how the victim struggled to “articulate” what had allegedly happened and was left “distraught” by it.

“She did not like telling me about it,” she said.

The court was told the victim wrote details about the alleged offences on sticky notes on the first occasion and recorded herself crying on a mobile phone for the second, which the mother found her doing.

The mother told the court she “felt like the person in the middle” as she tried to validate the allegations while also not immediately blaming the defendant.

She said “I looked for some sort of evidence” and “spent a lot of time looking at the CCTV footage from camera placed round the house”.

Questioned by the man’s barrister Tristain Carlos about the fate of the CCTV footage and if it showed proof of the offences taking place, she told him “I am not entirely sure”.

In addition to looking at the camera footage, the court was told the mother accessed the mobile phone of the accused with his permission.

The court was told since legal proceedings had begun, the mother and daughter were no longer living at the home in which the offences were alleged to have taken place.

Following her testimony, Senior Constable France of the Maryborough Child Protection and Investigation Unit took the stand.

He outlined to the court the timeline of the investigation, such as the mother first making a statement to him on December 18, 2o22 at a Boat Harbour address.

After the hearing, Magistrate Trinity McGarvie formally charged the man and committed him to face trial in the Hervey Bay District Court at a date to be determined.

When asked if he had anything to say, the defendant turned to Mr Carlos before replying “no, your honour”.

He was granted bail and no pleas have been entered.