Frederick Lukey found not guilty of rape, indecent treatment of girl, 14

A man has been found not guilty of raping a Southern Downs girl, 14, with the defence claiming the cases was hindered by inconsistent testimony and an ‘appalling’ police investigation.

Frederick Lindsay Lukey has been found not guilty of raping a Southern Downs girl, 14.

A man accused of raping a teenager at a Southern Downs home has been found not guilty, with a court hearing suggestions the claims were fabricated by the alleged victim to get her father’s attention.

Frederick Lindsay Lukey was charged with one count each of rape and indecent treatment of a child, over an alleged incident in December 2020.

It was alleged Mr Lukey digitally raped the 14-year-old girl and “touched or grabbed” her breast when she showed concern for him after his relationship breakdown.

He pleaded not guilty on the first day of his trial in Warwick District Court, with the jury of eight women and four men finding him not guilty the following afternoon.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey told the jury the girl first told her father of the allegations after he returned home from work one morning in December 2020.

Mr Godfrey said suggestions the girl made up the abuse allegations to get her father’s attention “didn’t hold water”, saying she clearly denied that during her testimony.

But defence barrister Jess Goldie said there were “multiple inconsistencies” with the girl’s evidence, telling the jury it was not the first time the alleged victim had made claims of being mistreated.

“These allegations are very easy to make up and they are very difficult to defend, and Mr Lukey is in an unenviable position,” she said.

“You have heard evidence that (the alleged victim has) previously made allegations against her mother, her brother, and her own father.

“Now, I don’t know if those allegations are true, Mr Lukey doesn’t know if they’re true or false, and we haven’t heard from her mother or brother to say if they’re true or not.

“But we have heard from her father and he says that never happened.

“He said it was investigated and nothing came of it.

“He said he’s never assaulted her.”
Mr Godfrey argued the girl’s evidence was “broadly consistent, entirely believable” and supported by the evidence of other witnesses.

“She told the court that her father had assaulted her in the past but it did not go to court because she wanted a relationship with him,” he said.

Ms Goldie said the Crown had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, pointedly noting what she said were “clear problems with the way this matter has been investigated by police”.

She told the jury there were at least two potential witnesses who were not questioned by police over the claims, including one who was allegedly in the same house on the night in question.

“(The Crown’s) evidence is on the basis of the complainant’s evidence, where there is no corroboration, multiple inconsistencies, facts which would affect her credibility, and an appalling police investigation,” she said.

A not guilty verdict was returned by the jury on the trial’s second day and Mr Lukey was discharged.