Outspoken Gympie activist charged with rape

An outspoken activist has been told to ‘be quiet’ during an appearance in a Gympie court to face a charge of raping a woman.

A Gympie man has been charged with rape. Pic: iStock.

An outspoken Gympie activist did not enter a plea when he faced court on Thursday, March 2, on a charge of rape.

The man sat back with closed eyes, a neck brace on, as his lawyer Anna Smith applied for bail.

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The court heard the man lived with the victim at a Gympie region property and allegedly came home with two other women.

He then left again with the two women in July 2022.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan told the court the alleged rape occurred on the day the man returned alone to the property in September 2022.

The victim moved to New South Wales not long after and a complaint to police was made about a month later by the man’s ex-wife on the victim’s behalf, Ms Smith told the court.

Police prosecutor Melissa Campbell said the man subscribed “to the ideologies of sovereign citizens”.

“That creates a risk of somebody who doesn’t care what the law says they should do,” she told the court.

The man spoke up from the dock, saying he was “not a sovereign citizen”.

“I don’t believe in that rubbish,” he said.

Mr Callaghan told him to be quiet.

The man was taken into custody for the matter on February 21, 2023 and had been in custody for two weeks, Ms Smith said.

She said the man was at risk of spending up to 18 months in custody before the matter could be heard due to the “backlog” of matters in Gympie District Court.

He was on bail at the time of the alleged offence and was additionally charged with two counts of failing to appear in court and four counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

Mr Callaghan granted him bail under “very strict” conditions due to the risk of spending too much time in custody.

The man was supported by three people in the public gallery.

He case was adjourned for committal mention on April 18, 2023.

Under current laws in Queensland, media are banned from reporting the identity of a person charged with sexual assault or rape offences until their court matter has been through a committal hearing, which can often take several months or even years.