Kevin Leslie Baker, 82, has assault charges from 1960s and 1970s linked to Neerkol Orphanage delayed in the magistrates court

Historical child abuse allegations against a former Neerkol Orphanage employee have been delayed in the magistrates court.

Kevin Leslie Baker leaving the Rockhampton courthouse.

Historical child abuse allegations against a former Neerkol Orphanage employee are being held up in the magistrates court as prosecution and defence continue to argue over which court the matters must be finalised in.

Kevin Leslie Baker, 82, who worked at Neerkol between 1964 and 1974, has been charged with four counts of common assault and two of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed/in company.

Police prosecutor Clancy Fox told Rockhampton Magistrates Court on March 17 he understood the matters had been set down for committal hand up that day.

However, defence lawyer Brian McGowran said he was of the understanding the charges, which arise from allegations of offences taking place in the 1960s and 1970s, that under the legal code of that era, it was up to the magistrate to determine if they could finalise the matters or if they had to be committed to the district court.

Defence lawyer Brian McGowran and Kevin Leslie Baker leave Rockhampton Magistrates Court. File image.

“I sent all of this to prosecutions back in November and asked for the charges to be discontinued,” he said.

Mr Fox told the court it was the procedural rules of today that were the relevant ones in terms of determining which court the matters needed to be finalised in, but it was the maximum penalties for those charges that were the relevant ones if Mr Baker was to be sentenced for the alleged offences.

He said the allegations involved in these charges formed part of the facts of alleged sexual offences which had already been committed to the district court.

Mr McGowran said those sexual charges had been resolved.

He said the first jury found Mr Baker not guilty of the alleged offences against person and the second jury was dismissed half way through the trial and Crown prosecution dismissed the charges.

Mr McGowran said he needed to look into which of four complainants from the outstanding charges were alive as he believed not all of them were still alive.

The matter was adjourned to March 30 for mention with the two parties to have the jurisdiction issue resolved by that time.

Mr Baker was not present in court for this mention, with Mr McGowran explaining his client who “has been attending this court regularly since 2017” was accompanying his wife to Brisbane for cancer treatment.