Mackay region man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting his niece at a Pioneer Valley property

The young woman was working off a debt of money she owed her uncle and drank an ‘exceptional’ amount of alcohol at the end of the day when he sexually assaulted her while she slept.

A Mackay region man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his niece in February 2021.

Vile details of how a Mackay region man sexually assaulted his niece after the pair had consumed an “exceptional” amount of booze have been revealed in court.

When the groping incident occurred the young woman had been working at the man’s Pioneer Valley property because he had loaned her money and she could not pay him back.

Mackay Magistrates Court heard after they had finished work, the two drank a 1.2L bottle of rum, a litre of port and multiple shots of liqueur.

At some point during a night in February 2021 the man, who cannot be named as it will identify the woman, groped her chest over her clothing.

The court heard he had gone into a room where she was lying in bed when the incident occurred.

He pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

Defence solicitor Antoinette Morton, of Fisher Dore Lawyers, argued it “was not predatory conduct” and said her client had pleaded guilty at his first appearance.

She said he was “extremely remorseful” and “deeply concerned” by his actions and had since engaged in a mental health plan.

Ms Morton told the court the man had been struggling with his mental health in the past few years in the wake of his adult children becoming more independent.

“It was not a predatory act … (it was) the act of a lonely man who had consumed far too much alcohol,” Ms Morton said.

The court heard the woman, in her victim impact statement, claimed her uncle had tried to keep her at the property when she attempted to leave.

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Ms Morton said her client had only taken her car keys to stop her driving for her own safety as she had drunk a lot of alcohol that night.

The court heard further the man had stayed with his niece while she was on the phone to Triple-0 and remained at the property knowing police were on the way.

Ms Morton said she accepted the prosecution’s submissions that jail was in range but pushed for probation in light of her client’s co-operation and the circumstances of the night.

The case was adjourned for sentence.