Predrag Durosinovic charged with aggravated sexual assault of child
Police have made an urgent, determined bid to keep a western Sydney tow truck driver accused of sexually assaulting a child behind bars after a local court granted him bail.
Penrith
Don't miss out on the headlines from Penrith. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Police made an urgent application to prevent a western Sydney tow truck driver accused of sexually abusing a child from getting out on bail after his application in the local court succeeded.
Predrag Durosinovic, 46, has been behind bars on remand since September 16 after his arrest over historical child sexual abuse allegations.
Durosinovic stands charged with grooming a child under 14 for sexual activity, two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 16, and sexual intercourse without consent.
The allegations involving a young teen complainant date between December 2017 and December 2021.
Magistrate Fiona Toose granted Durosinovic strict conditional bail at Penrith Local Court on Thursday – but the bail was immediately stayed following an application by a police prosecutor to appeal the decision in the NSW Supreme Court.
The rare application to stay release for a defendant charged with murder, anything punishable by life imprisonment or sexual intercourse with a child is permitted under Section 40 of the Bail Act.
Durosinovic will remain in custody on remand before he and the police will again have to make their cases before Justice Natalie Adams at the NSW Supreme Court on September 26.
In his application for bail, the court heard Durosinovic had recently undergone a total hip replacement and needed to be at liberty for physiotherapy and hydrotherapy to aid his recovery.
The court also heard Durosinovic’s father was ill with Stage 4 cancer and he was the primary breadwinner for his family.
But a police prosecutor staunchly opposed the application, citing the span of time in which the alleged abuse occurred and concerns about community safety.
“This is (alleged) offending and conduct over a five-year period, the sophistication of the offending plainly demonstrates the ability of the accused to circumvent (bail) restrictions,” the prosecutor told the court.
“Offences of this nature carry a flight risk, and they are often perpetrated by offenders with no criminal history.”
In granting bail prior to the stay application, Ms Toose had been satisfied a range of strict conditions could mitigate the risk of Durosinovic being in the community.
If not for the stay, Durosinovic would have been released to live in South Penrith, report daily to police, abstain from drugs and alcohol, submit to random testing, and stay away from international points of departure.
He also would have been required to surrender his passport and not apply for a new one, as well as have an acceptable person forfeit $1000 to the court to guarantee his future appearance.
Durosinovic would further have been prohibited from having or using a phone with any access to the internet or social media, or from being in the company of any child under 16.
The substantive matter will return to Penrith Local Court on November 13.
Man charged after war hero dad killed in alleged hit-and-run
A man who allegedly fled the scene of a horror crash, which killed a Sudanese war hero and father of eight on his way to work, has been charged.
Read more
Townhouse defects could cause ‘dangerous, unhealthy’ conditions
The developer behind a townhouse complex in Sydney’s west has been ordered to fix dozens of “serious” defects, including concrete “honeycombing”, structural degradation and “undue dampness”.
Read more