Former restaurant manager Clancy John Crerar pleads not guilty to rape

A jury has returned its verdict in the trial against a former manager of a Mackay restaurant accused of raping a teen employee during a closing shift. Read what happened

A jury took less than two hours to return a not-guilty verdict for a former manager of a Mackay restaurant accused of raping a teen employee during a closing shift.

A court heard the woman claimed Clancy John Crerar allegedly grabbed the teen making her touch his penis before forcing her to perform oral sex on him.

Mr Crerar, 36, pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court on February 23 to rape and sexual assault over the incident that allegedly occurred in the late 2000s.

The jury did not accept allegations that Mr Crerar exposed his penis before making the then-girl, aged in her mid teens, touch it and perform oral sex.

Mr Crerar’s barrister John Lo Schiavo, in his closing argument, said it was “up to the Crown to prove every element of the offending” and that the jury “wouldn’t be satisfied that her description of what has happened, happened”.

Clancy John Crerar pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court on February 22, 2022 to rape and indecent assault. Picture: Facebook

Mr Lo Schiavo highlighted that the woman continued to work at the restaurant after the alleged incident and did not raise what had occurred until a conversation with her husband about their sex life, arguing her “conduct doesn’t match what she’s saying”.

The court heard she also alleged she bit Mr Crerar’s penis during the alleged attack to which Mr Lo Schiavo said in his respectful submission if she had bitten his genitals the act would not have continued.

Crown prosecutor Siobhan Harrison, in her closing address to the jury, said the woman had presented as an “honest and a reliable witness”, who delivered clear, consistent and detailed evidence.

But the jury began deliberations at 2.45pm Thursday and returned not guilty verdicts on both the rape and sexual assault charges at 4.19pm.

Mr Crerar’s solicitor Andrew Scheiwe, of Tilbrook and Associates, said it was a “just result”.

“This has been on foot since 2019,” Mr Scheiwe said.

“The jury system works.”

DAY 1

An employee at a Mackay restaurant was on the closing shift late at night when her boss allegedly followed her upstairs and raped her.

A court heard Clancy John Crerar allegedly grabbed the teen’s arms making her touch his penis before forcing her to perform oral sex on him.

and forcing her to touch his penis, before grabbing her head with both hands and putting it in her mouth.

Mr Crerar, 36, pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court on February 23 to rape and sexual assault.

The alleged incident happened in the late 2000s, when the young teen worked at the venue after school.

Crown prosecutor Siobhan Harrison told the jury Mr Crerar was a manager at the restaurant when he began upskilling the teenager in the role of duty manager.

It was about 9.30pm when it is alleged she left the restaurant area to close the till in the upstairs office and Mr Crerar followed.

When the pair was alone, Mr Crerar allegedly began talking to the teenager about the size of his penis.

Ms Harrison said the teenager knew her manager had a partner at the time and allegedly told him not to speak to her like that before he dropped his pants exposed his genitals to her.

The case was heard in Mackay District Court on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Picture: Facebook

“He grabbed her arm and he put it on his now exposed penis,” Ms Harrison said.

Ms Harrison said the teenager continued to tell Mr Crerar she did not want to before he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex.

“He continued to use those hands to force her head back and forth on his penis, she tried to push away from him as he did this,” Ms Harrison said.

Years later, the employee told her now husband, who was a witness in the trial.

While giving evidence, her husband said his wife told him Mr Crerar had “forced” her to perform oral sex as she cried and gagged.

“He eventually did stop and gave up, and he grabbed something like a tissue nearby, cleaned himself … and turned to her and told her she was fine to go,” the woman’s husband told the court, recalling the conversation where she first told him of the alleged incident.

The court heard the she had met her husband about 12 months after the alleged rape, but only told him about it several years later.

The husband told the court the conversation had begun about 9pm one night when the couple were discussing a range of topics, including problems with their sex life.

A jury found Mr Crerar not guilty of rape and indecent assault. Picture: Facebook

Mr Crerar’s barrister John Lo Schiavo asked the husband whether he was complaining about the lack of oral sex in their relationship and whether the retelling of her alleged experience was brought up as an excuse for not participating.

“Firstly, my wife does not need an excuse, it’s a woman’s prerogative to say no, secondly, it‘s not how I go about getting lucky talking about these sorts of things to my wife,” the husband said.

“It was more of how you build a relationship and work on things than trying to get lucky mate.”

Her husband told the jury his wife “completely broke down” after telling him about her alleged experience with Mr Crerar, to the point he called her parents at 3am to come and help.

He said when her parents arrived, her mother stayed with her daughter while he and her father waited outside.

In her evidence, the mother said she arrived to find her daughter crying hysterically on the hallway floor, before taking her to the lounge room.

Mr Lo Schiavo, for Mr Crerar, questioned the mother’s memory, highlighting that she did not remember where her husband and son-in-law were located during the conversation with her daughter.

The trial continues on Thursday.