Mackay man jailed after trial accused of raping sisters

A Mackay man is accused of raping two sisters after they had been left alone with him, with one incident allegedly occurring while his wife watched.

A Mackay man is accused of digitally raping two sisters between December 2019 and July 2020. He has pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to three counts of rape.

A Mackay man accused of molesting two sisters has been jailed for four-and-a-half years for raping one girl, but acquitted of the rape charge against the other.

He had pleaded not guilty in Mackay District Court to three counts of digital rape between December 2019 and July 2020 at Sarina and Grasstree Beach.

It was alleged the man, who was a distant relation, raped one of the girls while she was sitting on a bed in the man’s home, but stopped when his wife entered the room.

The seven-woman, five-man jury found him not guilty of rape but guilty of the lesser charge of indecent treatment of a child under 16 over this incident.

He raped her sister twice and on once threatened to “hurt” her if she told anyone.

The court heard the first incident happened when he had been delivering groceries to her home and he ended up in her room, sat on her bed and touched her.

When she told him to stop, he said if she told anyone “he would hurt her”, the court heard.

The second time, the man and his wife had been staying at her home when he took her to the bathroom and digitally raped her allegedly “while his wife stood at the door”, the court heard.

The jury found him guilty of the two counts of rape against this sister.

He was jailed for four-and-a-half-years concurrent with a two-year term for the indecent treatment.

No parole eligibility date was set, but he will be able to apply for release after serving 50 per cent of the term including the 411 days already spent in pre sentence custody.