Former Sutherland Shire real estate agent on trial for sexual abuse

The mother of a man who accuses a former Sutherland Shire real estate agent of sexually abusing him as a child has recounted the morning he broke down and revealed the claim for the first time.

Downing Centre Courts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A man who alleges he was sexually abused as a child by a former Sutherland Shire real estate agent broke down in sobs and said he wanted to kill his alleged abuser for ruining his life, his mother has told a court.

The former realtor – who cannot be named – is on trial before Judge James Bennett and a jury of 15 at Sydney District Court, where he is defending nine charges related to allegations he sexually abused a boy when he was 12, 13 and 17.

The nine instances are said to have occurred on three occasions in the Sutherland Shire in 2004, 2005 and 2010.

In the first instance, the complainant alleges the former realtor masturbated in front of him and then forced the complainant to masturbate him in the back of a car in Cronulla.

In the second instance, the complainant alleges the former realtor performed oral sex on him, forced the complainant to perform oral sex, forced the complainant to penetrate him and then penetrated the complainant.

The former realtor denies these allegations entirely.

A pixelated image of a former real estate agent from the Sutherland Shire who is on trial for child sex offences in July 2023.

In the third instance when the complainant was 17, he alleges the former realtor touched his penis under his bedding and then performed oral sex on him before the pair had sex, for which the realtor is not charged.

The former realtor says this incident was part of a consensual sexual encounter.

The complainant’s mother gave evidence on Tuesday and Wednesday in which she described the day in June 2018 her son came home, intoxicated and distressed, and first divulged his allegations about the former realtor.

“I thought it was the dog, it was a wailing sound and I thought the dog was hurt but when I got up and checked, (my son) was on the lounge room floor,” the mother said.

“He said ‘I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, he ruined my life’, and I didn’t know what he was talking about.”

The mother said the complainant was rambling, slurring and extremely distressed.

“He said ‘I wanna kill him’, I said why, and he said ‘he raped me’,” the mother said.

“I was in shock as well, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and he repeated it again – I said where, and he said (the three addresses).

“He was completely broken down, he was crying, he was distressed.”

The Downing Centre Courts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The mother said she then contacted the former realtor’s mother and informed her of the allegations, thinking she would want to know if someone made similar allegations about her own son.

The court then heard the former realtor’s mother allegedly reported the complainant’s mother to police, prompting the complainant’s mother to attend the police station and find out if she had done anything wrong.

Her son did not make a complaint to police for the first time until 2019.

On Wednesday, a statement made by the former realtor’s brother was read aloud in court, as the witness was unable to attend in person.

“On June 13 2018, I received a message from (the complainant) saying ‘I love you but I’m going to kill your brother … he has ruined my life, he does not deserve to live’,” Judge Bennett read from the former realtor’s brother’s statement.

“A month later, I saw (the complainant and his sister) at a bar, (the complainant) approached me saying ‘(your brother) has been abusing me and I’m going to the police about it’.”

A close friend to both the complainant and the former realtor – in whose car the first incident allegedly occurred – also gave evidence.

The court heard the mutual friend had initially been unwilling to give a statement because he knew both families and felt awkward about it, but also that he was focused on his own family and had not witnessed any of the alleged incidents.

The mutual friend said he had never discussed the allegations with the former realtor.

The trial continues.