Angus Eric Ross Keppel, 21, to be resentenced on rape of pregnant child

A man who escaped serious prison time for raping and assaulting a pregnant child may see himself resentenced after ditching court.

Angus Eric Ross Keppel appeared before Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday pleaded guilty to failing to appear and seeking bail on domestic violence and traffic offences. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A convicted rapist has jeopardised his freedom after committing an imprisonable offence which might see him resentenced for his past horrific crimes.

Angus Eric Ross Keppel appeared before Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday pleaded guilty to failing to appear and seeking bail on domestic violence and traffic offences.

The 21-year-old’s conviction for failing to appear now puts him in jeopardy of returning to prison for a 2023 conviction of rape in the Toowoomba District Court.

Keppel pleaded guilty to one count of rape and assault occasioning bodily harm and two counts of common assault in 2023 for offences committed when he was 18 against a 15-year-old girl.

Court documents stated Keppel burned the girl’s skin with a cigarette, leaving a mark, and punched her in the stomach, despite her being pregnant at the time.

They further claimed he locked her in a room and raped her, ignoring her pleas to stop.

His defence claimed Keppel had suffered severe trauma which desensitised him to violence and struggled with drug misuse and mental illness.

For his crimes, the now 21-year-old received three years and nine months imprisonment, suspended after four months, having already spent 260 days in undeclared custody.

Convictions were recorded.

Despite breaching the terms of his suspended sentence, Keppel applied for bail on Wednesday for domestic violence alongside traffic and obstruction charges.

Police alleged Keppel ran from police twice before his most recent arrest, citing a clear risk of failure to appear.

His solicitor Alysha Jacobsen said Keppel acknowledged it was an “extremely stupid decision for him to make”.

“What he told me was, at that point, when police were there, he was scared,” she said.

“He instructs they were in an unmarked car and immediately thought the worst and he drove off, however, I accept afterwards he realised it was the police.”

Ms Jacobsen argued frequent and strict reporting conditions would alleviate any risk of not returning to court.

Acting magistrate David Shepherd denied bail on the grounds a risk of fleeing was too high.

“There is a considerable concern arising that the defendant will be in jeopardy of actually spending further time in custody for those (district court) matters … which has a significant impact upon the likelihood of the defendant appearing in court,” he said.

For failing to appear, Keppel was fined $250 with a conviction recorded.

He was additionally charged with two counts of driving without a licence and one count each of dangerous operation of a vehicle, failing to stop, obstructing police, driving uninsured, using incorrect number plates, driving unregistered, wilfully making unnecessary noise or smoke and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle (domestic violence).

He is due in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on January 21 on those matters.

For breaching his suspended sentence, he will appear before the Toowoomba District Court at a time to be notified by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Originally published as Angus Eric Ross Keppel, 21, to be resentenced on rape of pregnant child