Riverina: Woman accused of sex with teenage boys fronts court
A woman in her 30s has fronted court accused of committing multiple sexual offences against teenage boys in the Riverina.
The Wagga News
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A Riverina woman accused of committing multiple sexual offences against four teenage boys has appeared in court today when she was denied bail.
The woman, who is not named for legal reasons, appeared via video link in Wagga Local Court in relation to 11 charges.
She is facing five counts of intentionally sexually touching a child and three counts of sexual intercourse with a child.
The charges of intentionally inciting a child to do a sexual act, using a carriage service to send indecent material and false representation resulting in police investigation were also laid on the woman.
She has not pleaded to the charges.
The court appearance of the woman, in her 30s, comes after detectives started an investigation in November 2019.
During the investigation, detectives received information about other boys with whom the woman allegedly had sexual interactions.
Following extensive investigations, detectives arrested the woman in Wagga about 10am yesterday.
Police allege in court the woman groomed and sexually abused two boys and incited a third boy to perform a sexual act in the Riverina between May and November 2019.
It is further alleged the woman sent indecent messages and images to a fourth boy and fabricated a false report of breaching an apprehended domestic violence orders.
In court today, defence solicitor Emma Carruthers said her client indicated she would be defending the charges.
“She’s raised some questions over the reliability of some of the evidence,” Ms Carruthers said.
She argued for bail citing her client’s risk of spending lengthy time in custody, medical and health issues, and other unrelated court matters.
Ms Carruthers said her client was on medications that required monitoring and was set to have gallbladder surgery within the next six months.
“She needs to see her doctor regularly. In custody, she won’t have that level of trust with other medical professionals,” she said.
“If she were to be bail refused, she’d spend a lengthy time in custody during the committal phase.
“There could be certain conditions imposed to mitigate the risks to the complainants.”
Police prosecutor Sergeant Jasmine Carr argued bail was not justified, saying it was “a very strong prosecution case that is corroborated by mobile phone data”.
“The (alleged) nature of grooming occurred secretly in covert ways,” Sergeant Carr said.
“Even if home detention is placed, there aren’t conditions to mitigate the risks.”
Sergeant Carr also said there was no medical evidence to support the woman’s need for surgery within the next six months.
“Medical conditions can be monitored in custody,” she said.
“If the accused is found guilty on a combination or any of these charges, she is looking at a custodial sentence.”
Registrar Paul Fernon said the charges were serious and that the “strong prosecution case was supported by some electronic evidence”.
“The matters raised by Ms Carruthers do not justify the accused being released,” he said.
She was formally refused bail.
The court heard the matter would be handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions at a future date.
The woman is set to front court again on March 18.