Married couple granted bail over ‘serious’ child rape allegations
A court has heard shocking allegations that a husband and wife held down and raped a nine-year-old girl who had been left in their care by trusting friends.
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A married couple allegedly pinned down and raped a young child left in their care by trusting friends, a court has heard.
Police allege Peter David Baker and his wife Sudarat Baker fled to Thailand to “avoid detection” in late 2017, having assaulted a young girl on two occasions in their caravan.
Gruesome details of the allegations were read out during their bail applications on Tuesday, with a court hearing the girl was forced to strip, before being “held down” and “screamed out” while Mr Baker raped her.
It will be alleged the child, who was aged between nine and 10 at the time, had been left in the Bakers’ care after they had enjoyed dinner with the victim’s family.
The offences are said to have taken place between November 2014 and January 2016,
Husband Peter, 60, is charged with three counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 10 in company and having sex with a person aged 10 to 14.
His younger wife Sudarat, 36, a Thai national, was also charged with three counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 10 in company.
The Bakers, who are keen nudists, were granted strict conditional bail in the Supreme Court on Tuesday before Justice Richard Cavanagh, who described the allegations against them as “most, most serious”.
The couple, described by friends as “exceptional parents” to their new eight-month-old child, strenuously deny the alleged crimes.
Appearing via video link Mr Baker shook his head solemnly when allegations he “threatened” the child not to tell anyone after raping her were read out before the court.
Ms Baker broke into tears after learning she would be released from custody.
Each of the accused could face lengthy prison terms if convicted, Justice Cavanagh said, with the offences carrying life sentences.
Defence solicitor Sherleen Chand told the court the couple returned home to Australia in July in the knowledge an investigation was underway into the child’s claims of abuse, which were first reported to police in November 2016.
Ms Chand said a delay in serving the police brief meant they could have remained in custody for an unforeseen period, being kept away from their own young child.
“Police have had ample time to collect evidence … nearly three years later there is no evidence available,” she said.
In granting bail Justice Cavanagh rejected a proposition that Mr Baker had tried to deceive police in an email in August 2019 telling an officer it had always been the family’s goal to “settle in Thailand”, despite returning to Australia the month before.
The Crown had argued Mr Baker had been deliberately ambiguous about his location in an attempt to throw the police off his trail.
Under their bail conditions the couple must live with one of Mr Baker’s daughters in Fennell Bay, remain there between 9pm and 6am each night and report daily to Toronto police station.
The Bakers were arrested at their North Lakes home in Queensland’s Morton Bay region in October 2 and extradited back to NSW where they were denied bail at Raymond Terrace police station.