Stephanie Belthikiotis charged with kidnap, child sex offences in Killarney Vale faces court
A woman charged with kidnapping and sexually abusing a girl, 14, in company with a man, went on the run after getting bail because “she was scared of the media”, a court has heard.
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A woman charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at Killarney Vale has been refused bail after she failed to appear at court in August and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Stephanie Belthikiotis, 33, formerly of Tumbi Umbi, was arrested on Wednesday hiding under a blanket in the back seat of a car.
She was refused bail to appear at Wyong Local Court on Thursday, which heard she was supposed to face the same court on August 4 but failed to appear and Magistrate Caleb Franklin issued a warrant for her arrest.
Ms Belthikiotis was charged in May following an investigation by detectives from the State Crime Command’s Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad into reports a 14-year-old girl had been drugged and sexually assaulted by a man and a woman she knew through a friend.
A crime scene warrant was conducted by detectives at a property on May 22 and Horton and Belthikiotis were arrested at a property at Tumbi Umbi.
Belthikiotis was charged with five counts of aggravated intentionally carrying out a sexual act with a child aged between 10 and 16, three counts of intentionally sexually touching a child and one count of kidnapping a person in company with intent to obtain advantage.
Charge sheets tendered to court allege Ms Belthikiotis committed the offences between 12pm on October 3, 2019 and 10am on October 4, last year.
After her arrest on Wednesday she was further charged with failing to appear at court.
A statement of police facts, tendered in court at her bail application on Thursday, states officers were patrolling the KFC/Subway car park at Mingara Drive about 4.40pm on Wednesday when they saw a white Mitsubishi Magna.
They spoke to a male driver and informed him “both he and the vehicle would be searched, as police suspected either he had possession of, or the vehicle contained drugs”.
“While searching the vehicle, police located the accused hiding underneath a blanket on the rear seat of the vehicle,” the facts state.
“The accused was placed under arrest as she had an outstanding warrant.
“The accused has stated that she did not appear the last time, because she was scared of the media.”
The court heard her co-accused, Greg Horton, 46, was listed to face Wyong Local Court next Tuesday where charges were expected to be certified for committal to the District Court.
Mr Horton has been charged with five counts of aggravated intentionally do sexual act with child (aged between 10 and 16), four counts of intentionally sexually touch child, two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with child and kidnapping a person in company with intent to obtain advantage.
Ms Belthikiotis’s solicitor Nadia Karim told the court her client would be able to abide by bail conditions that she live at Gorokan and was no longer a flight risk because “she was in a very different place to where she is now”.
Ms Karim said Ms Belthikiotis had subsequently been diagnosed with “panic syndrome”, was seeking treatment for mental health issues and had been clean from drugs for two months.
Magistrate Franklin said while it appeared on the police facts she played somewhat of a “lesser role” in the alleged abuse of the child, if convicted she was “highly likely” to face a lengthy term of imprisonment.
She will face court again on Tuesday along with Mr Horton.