Mackay man found guilty of raping mentally impaired stepdaughter

A Qld man has learned his fate after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing his mentally impaired stepdaughter. LATEST

Mackay Court House

A Mackay man has been jailed for three years for sexually abusing his mentally impaired stepdaughter after a jury found him guilty of one count of rape.

The man, in his 30s, was acquitted of a another count of rape against his stepdaughter and a count of sexual assault against her friend, which had allegedly occurred on the same night.
Mackay District Court heard there was also a directed not guilty verdict on a third count of rape against his 16-year-old stepdaughter, who had the mental intellect of a seven year old.

It was accepted the man was acquitted on the most serious of the allegations, the court heard.

Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason said the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was aware of his stepdaughter’s disability and her need for love and affection, which she argued was part of his manipulation and “how he preyed on her”.

The man’s barrister Scott Moon said his client was a father of two who had endured an unstable upbringing marred with homelessness, and this was his first time in custody.

He had no criminal history and had been on bail for the offending for a long time without any bail breaches.

The court heard the man must spend some time in jail and Mr Moon pushed for less time than would ordinarily be served after a trial and for a suspended sentence to give him a definitive release date.

Judge Bernard Porter KC said there had been no coercion or force used but the victim’s limited intelligence and dependence made the crime confusing and difficult for her to figure out how to react to the offence.

The court heard he would be a registered sex offender and subject to strict obligations.

He was jailed for three years to serve 12 months. The jail term would be suspended for three years.

A conviction was recorded.

Lawyer claims police prompted alleged child sex abuse victims

A lawyer for a man accused of raping his mentally impaired step daughter and sexually abusing her mentally impaired friend has suggested police prompts skewed their evidence, a court heard.

The 11-man, one woman jury will soon begin deliberations into the case.

The man has pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to three counts of rape or in the alternative three counts of unlawful and indecent dealing of a person with an impairment of the mind in the Mackay region between late 2020 and late 2021 against his then 16-year-old stepdaughter.

He has also pleaded not guilty to one count of sexually assaulting her then 17-year-old friend, which is alleged to have occurred during a sleepover at his home within that same time frame.

The court heard his stepdaughter’s mental age was about seven years old and her friend was six-and-a half years old.

Defence barrister Scott Moon, in his closing address, said the central issue in the case rested on whether or not the jury could accept the girls’ accounts as being accurate and beyond reasonable doubt.

He said police had to repeatedly prompt the stepdaughter for information.

“You might think targeted prompting … targeted questions to elicit information,” Mr Moon said, adding police had also asked her friend “direct leading questions”.

He took the jury through how it took police four prompts and included the police officer asked specifically about her stepdad touching her inappropriately, before she spoke about the allegations.

Mr Moon said until then the teen had described him as loving and kind, and said she was always happy and safe.

Mr Moon told the court the girls had also accepted they had issues with memory and recalling events and suggested it was open to consider they might be recreating things using other memories.

Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason, in her closing address, said it was important for the jury to remember the mental ages of the girls when deliberating over the evidence they gave to police and in court.

“They did so within that mindset of a young child,” she said, which she said explained features of the evidence which might appear inconsistent or unclear or confused.

Ms Ollason said the memory of a six or seven year old confronted with something that horrendous might not have complete comprehensions of what had occurred.

She told the jury the lens needed to view their evidence was “that of a young child doing their best to recount what happened to them”.
Ms Ollason said while the girls needed some prompting to stay on track, adding the stepdaughter had been easily distracted when speaking to police “much like a young child”, the information relevant to the allegations “came out organically”.

This afternoon Judge Bernard Porter KC will begin his directions to the jury, who are expected to begin deliberations later today.

Step dad charged with raping mentally impaired teen

A Mackay man is accused of repeatedly raping his mentally impaired teen stepdaughter while she was under his care and sexually abusing her and her friend on the same night during a sleepover.

However he denied the allegations pleading not guilty to three counts of rape or in the alternative three counts of unlawful and indecent dealing of a person with an impairment of the mind.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting his stepdaughter’s friend.

It is alleged the offending occurred in the Mackay region between late 2020 and late 2021.

Mackay District Court heard he lived with his alleged victim, who was 16 years old, and her mother when the alleged digital rapes occurred.

“She called him dad. She thought highly of him. She thought he was a good person to her and her mum,” Crown prosecutor Grace Ollason told the 11-man, one-woman jury during her opening address on Monday.

The court heard she used to seek out her stepfather for cuddles and he gave her back rubs and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.

Ms Ollason said one day “that changed”, when he allegedly put his hands in her underwear and digitally raped her.

The court heard this allegedly happened on three separate occasions including one time just before her mother came home when it is alleged he stopped washed his hands and gave her mum a kiss.

The court heard one night it was alleged he joined his stepdaughter in bed with her 17-year-old friend, who was staying the night, and sexually assaulted both of them.

The friend alleged she felt him “fiddling around with” her genital area and hearing the stepdaughter telling him to stop.

Defence barrister Scott Moon, instructed by Legal Aid Queensland, told the jury the true issue would be their assessment of the accuracy and reliability of the alleged victims’ evidence and whether they could accept and rely on it.

Mr Moon urged the jury not to prejudge the issues in the case and to keep an open mind.

He told the jury they needed to focus on what the girls recalled and how they recalled it including questions asked by police and any prompting required to get a response from the alleged victims.

Mr Moon said the jury needed to determine if their memories were credible and reliable enough to meet the high standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

The court was closed for the evidence from the two alleged victims.

The trial under Judge Bernard Porter KC continues on Tuesday.