Man found guilty in Mackay District Court of rape, molesting nieces
A man convicted of historical child sexual abuse offences has been found guilty of repeatedly raping his niece and molesting another.
A man with a history of serious child sexual offences has been found guilty of repeatedly raping one niece and molesting another in the Mackay and southern Queensland regions.
Mackay District Court heard the offences took place when the girls were between 11 and 16 years old and involved preying on one of the girls and raping her while he was living in the family home.
The seven-man, five-woman jury found the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, guilty of one count of indecently treating a child under 12 and four counts of aggravated rape.
During the six day trial, the girls gave evidence of how the man went into one of the girl’s bedrooms, put a pillow against her face and told her something along the lines of “this is our little secret, do not tell anyone”.
One time he told one of his teenage nieces over text he would “try sneak in later when granny is asleep” before he molested her.
The abuse involved the man taking advantage of one of the girls while they were in the shower and once while one of the girls fell asleep watching a movie.
The court heard that the girls on one occasion confronted their mother, the sister of their abuser, about some of the abuse but were told that “he would never do something like that”.
It took the jury less than a day to hand down their decision, finding him guilty of all five charges at 2.40pm Monday, October 20.
He faces a maximum term of life in prison and will be sentenced on Tuesday so one of the nieces to write a victim impact statement.
Jury told to ‘believe’ alleged rapist uncle
A defence barrister has argued key allegations against an uncle accused of repeatedly raping one niece and molesting another were littered with inaccuracies and couldn’t be backed up.
The accused man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of indecently treating a child under 12 as the trial began in Mackay District Court on October 13.
The court heard that the alleged rape occurred when one of the girls was aged between nine and 11 years old and happened while her uncle was living with them in the Mackay and southern Queensland regions.
Ms Friedewald told the seven-man, five-woman jury on Monday that the man went into the little girl’s bedroom, put a pillow against her face and told her something along the lines of “this is our little secret, do not tell anyone”.
In his closing arguments, defence barrister Paul Rutledge said the allegations were fabricated because the girls were pressured by their father to come and live with him.
He claimed the evidence was “littered with examples of where (the two nieces) say something that’s not backed up”.
During his final submissions to the court, Mr Rutledge pointed to the fact that one of the girls failed to come forward with the allegations when police first questioned her when she was nine years old.
The court heard that out of nine interviews with police, the two girls only opened up about their abuses three times.
“It is recognised, and well recognised that people get mixed up and do not disclose something in sexual offences, that’s the reality of life,” he said.
“But it reaches a tipping point when that excuse wears very thin.”
Mr Rutledge referred to the TV series Ted Lasso when telling the jury to “believe” that his client was innocent.
Crown Prosecutor Nicole Friedewald argued that the evidence provided by the alleged victim and her mother, the brother of the accused, was consistent, despite the mother refusing to believe her daughters when they came forward to her with some of the allegations.
Ms Friedewald pointed to text messages sent between the accused and his alleged victim saying “I’ll try to sneak in later when granny is asleep if you want me to”.
“They are not, I suggest, the type of messages that you might expect between an uncle and his much younger niece,” she said.
It brought an end to the fifth day of the trial where both defence and prosecution delivered their final submissions.
The jury is expected to return next week to deliver their verdict.
‘Our little secret’: Uncle accused of repeat rape
A man accused of repeatedly raping one niece and sexually abusing another while telling them to keep it as their “little secret” has denied the charges.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and one of indecently treating a child under 12 as the trial began in Mackay District Court on October 13.
The man allegedly raped one of the girls multiple times and molested the other in the Mackay and southern Queensland regions.
Crown Prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said it was alleged one of the girls was aged between nine and 11 years old and her uncle was living at her family home.
Ms Friedewald told the seven-man, five-woman jury in her opening remarks that the man went into the little girl’s bedroom, put a pillow against her face and told her something along the lines of “this is our little secret, do not tell anyone”.
Ms Friedewald said the offending allegedly picked up in 2020 when the two sisters visited their grandma’s house over the school holidays where the alleged accuser had been staying at the time.
It was alleged the man would send text messages or whisper to them inviting one of the girls into his bedroom before some of the alleged rapes occurred.
The court heard the oldest sister had tried to tell her mum, the man’s sister, when she was 11 years old about the offending but her mother told her “(he) would never do anything like that”.
Several years later she alleged in an interview with police that her uncle took off her pyjamas while she was meant to be asleep next to him and raped her, and she cried to try to alert other people in the house.
Ms Friedewald told the court that the girls experienced dysfunction in the family throughout their childhood alleging that at one time, the mother choked one of the girls and was later kicked out to live with her dad.
Defence barrister Paul Rutledge, who also gave a brief opening statement to the jury, described it as “a mess of a case” that was “founded in a dysfunctional family”.
“This case gets down to something really simple … is (the girl) an honest and reliable witness,” he said.
Mr Rutledge said, suggesting to the jury “they are neither honest nor reliable”.
“You cannot rely on the evidence of either (girl).”
