South Burnett man charged with maintaining sexual relationship with child

A new trial will begin later in 2024 after a jury was unable to reach a verdict against a Kingaroy businessman accused of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with his daughter when she was a child.

Kingaroy Magistrates Court. File Photo.

A new trial will be held in late 2024 after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of a man charged with maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with his daughter, when she was a child, in a Kingaroy trial in November 2023.

The man was acquitted in the same trial of one charge of raping his daughter.

During the 2023 trial, the court was told the abuse allegedly started when the girl was six or seven years old and was described as “habitual” and “repetitive”, occurring multiple times a week until she was 16.

Most of the abuse is alleged to have happened at the defendant’s home; in his bed which he shared with his wife and in other rooms including the bathroom where he would allegedly force her to perform sex acts on him.

Kingaroy Court.

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When the alleged victim was 16, she confided to somebody else about the alleged abuse, and went to live with their family.

The court was told the girl had also confided in several other people while the alleged abuse was taking place as well as later in life.

The court heard today the matter will be mentioned at a later court date however both the defence and prosecutor indicated a September date for the new trial.