Warwick man accused of child abuse offences takes stand and gives evidence in own trial

A Warwick man, accused of sexual offences against two children, has taken the stand to provide his version of events as his District Court trial enters its final stages.

A Warwick man accused of committing sexual offences against two children has taken the stand to give evidence in his own trial as it reaches its final day.

The man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has pleaded not guilty to all six charges including, two counts of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child under 16, two counts of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child under 12 and two charges relating to indecent exposure while under care.

The court was told on Tuesday the boys were aged 10 and 12 at the time of the alleged offending.

On Wednesday, the court was told about the direct aftermath of the alleged offending, including evidence given by the two boys’ parents detailing the day after the man had left the home in which the offending was alleged by the Crown to have taken place.

Taking to the stand, the accused, represented by his lawyer Jens Streit, was asked multiple questions regarding his versions of events from the period he was visiting the family from June 4 to 8, 2021.

Regarding the offence where he was alleged to have helped take off the 12-year-old boy’s shirt and touched his back, bottom and thigh, the accused said it was “not true”.

The man responded “I did not do that” to the Crown’s allegation that on June 4, the man had put his hands on the 10-year-old boy’s throat, before pushing him onto the bed and kissing him.

The man further denied all of the Crown’s alleged version of events, including an offence in which while a car was being cleaned in the driveway, the man had grabbed the 10-year-old boy’s genitalia in the backyard.

“It didn’t happen. The car was already clean, it was a rental,” the man said.

The trial of a Warwick man accused of child abuse offence has continued in Warwick District Court.

The man also denied sending any sexually explicit photos or videos to the 10-year-old boy, saying that he had been “hacked”, with the defence providing to the jury an email the man had received on June 6, showing someone had logged into his Snapchat account to which he quickly changed his password.

“It wasn’t me, I don’t know what it’s about,” the man recalled saying when confronted by the boys’ mother.

“She told me she knew I wouldn’t do it, and said she’d help me find who hacked my account.”

The man told the court everything seemed normal when he left the home.

“I gave everyone a cuddle and said goodbye, everyone seemed to be in a good mood before driving back to Warwick.”

Crown prosecutor Jennifer O’Brien asked the man if, when he visited the family, he was responsible for watching the kids, which he accepted.

“I would have only been alone with the 12-year-old boy for 10 minutes maximum over the course of my stay,” the man replied to Ms O’Brien.

The man also denied ever sending any explicit Snapchat messages to the 10-year-old boy and rejected the crown’s allegation that the man was left in charge of the boys while their parents went to Toowoomba.

“That happened the second last time I visited, no time at all did they leave for Toowoomba that weekend I was there,” the accused said.

“I’m going to suggest you did hold down the boy by the throat, and kissed him on the lips and put your tongue in his mouth,” Ms O’Brien said.

“No I did not, and even if I had done that he would have caught conjunctivitis, as I had it at the time for about a month and it was really severe,” the man said.

“Well you heard that the 12-year-old got conjunctivitis,” Ms O’Brien replied.

“No he did not though, that’s the thing,” the man said.

“How do you know, you didn’t see him after you left, you don’t have any medical training, do you?” Ms O’Brien said.

During the defence’s closing remarks, Mr Streit stated the Crown’s case was “almost improbable” and “frankly makes no sense” as there was “a significant risk of the alleged offences being discovered”.

“There’s a complete absence of the photo and video evidence and there is no consistent narrative,” he said.

“It doesn’t make any sense, none of it happened – it’s a sick prank.”

Ms O’Brien told the jury in her closing address that the boy’s account was reliable and accurate.

“They gave a consistent account in court, the degree of similarity (in the offending) makes the contrary highly improbable,” she said.

The jury is expected to retire for deliberation tomorrow morning following Judge Nathan Jarro’s final remarks.