Thornleigh skatepark attack: Man allegedly drugged, raped 12-year-old girl
A man allegedly abducted a 12-year-old schoolgirl from a skatepark in Sydney’s north before he drugged and sexually assaulted her at home in Dural, a court heard.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Tributes flow for slain grandfather after ‘gutless attack’
- ‘Appalling’ TikTok trend making a mockery of epilepsy
A man accused of abducting and raping a schoolgirl in Sydney’s north allegedly plied her with drugs during the horrific attack, a court heard.
Police allege Brett Callaghan lured the 12-year-old from a Thornleigh skatepark on Tuesday afternoon.
The 37-year-old was not required to appear when his case was heard at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday, but he will consider making a bid for bail in two weeks’ time.
He’s been charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 and sexually touching a person without consent.
Police allege Callaghan was high on drugs when he attacked the girl in his car and at his Dural home, Hornsby Local Court heard yesterday.
“It’s alleged the accused collected the victim from a quarry and took her back to his house where its alleged a serious sexual assault took place upon her,” Magistrate Bruce Williams said.
“There were drugs administered to her.”
Police have been granted permission to forcibly take DNA evidence from Callaghan, who was placed in a full body suit while his hands were covered in bags to prevent him from touching private areas and destroying evidence on his fingernails.
On Wednesday an officer told the court Callaghan was acting erratically in custody and had tried to take the bags off.
“He’s tried disrupting it and we’ve had to rebag those hands a number of times now. They’re only paper bags so he could easily manipulate evidence by trying to put the bag into his mouth,” the detective said.
“He’s quite obviously under the influence of illicit drugs.”
An interim application for the forensic procedure has already been approved but Callaghan has objected to the order being made final.
The NSW Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander said the girl had never met Callaghan before but he’d come to the skate park on Dartford Road with another youngster.
“She left willingly, thinking that she was in the care and custody of someone she felt safe [with],” Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said.
The girl had been with friends but when she failed to meet her family back at Hornsby Westfield as prearranged, they reported her missing around 5.30pm on Tuesday.
Detectives allegedly found her at Callaghan’s Dural home just after 1am on Wednesday and arrested him.
The child was taken straight to hospital and Supt Kerlatec said “any parent would be absolutely distraught.”
“This investigation is continuing. We expect there will be further charges,” he said.
Supt Kerlatec warned against families becoming relaxed about stranger danger just because much of the community is staying home amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It is a concern for all parents that at this time with restrictions being considered to be loosening, we have people preying on vulnerable children,” He said.
The other child remains in the care of family.
Police established a crime scene at the Dural home and seized a nearby parked car believed to be involved in the attack which is being forensically examined.