Bail bid reveals details of 72-year-old Cairns man Brian Peter Hepburn’s alleged grooming of teenage girl

A 72-year-old Cairns man charged with supplying a 15-year-old girl with methylamphetamine and attempting to engage in sexual contact with her over a roughly eight-month period has made a bid for bail.

A 72-YEAR-OLD Cairns man charged with supplying a 15-year-old girl with methylamphetamine and attempting to engage in sexual contact with her over a roughly eight month period has made a bid for bail.

Brian Peter Hepburn is the fourth man to be charged a result of Operation Uniform Kalahari, an ongoing police probe into the alleged grooming and exploitation of at least eight vulnerable young people in the Cairns area.

A third man, a 42-year-old, was charged and appeared in court on Saturday, June 11, facing 11 charges including rape, two counts of indecent treatment of a child, two counts of unlawful wounding, and two counts of supplying dangerous drugs to a minor.

Mr Hepburn was charged on Tuesday night with four counts of aggravated supply of a dangerous drug to a minor under 16 years, one count of attempted indecent treatment of a child under 16, one count of grooming a child under 16 and two counts of unlawful wounding.

Duty lawyer Hayley Fox made an application for bail on behalf of Mr Hepburn, who appeared via video link from the watch-house, holding his head in his hands for much of the proceeding.

Opposing bail, police prosecutor Christina Fresta said the most concerning aspect of the charges was that Mr Hepburn was alleged to have groomed a vulnerable teenage girl, supplying her with drugs with no request for payment.

“During the grooming period, he would mention things to the juvenile saying, ‘I’ll shout you if you do something for me’,” Ms Fresta told the court.

“He’s made statements in an attempt to initiate sexual contact, a sexual interaction with a juvenile, on the basis of supplying her with methylamphetamine.”

In arguing why her client should be granted bail, Ms Fox said the objection to bail clearly noted that the alleged victim was recounting events after being injected with methamphetamine and was therefore under the influence at all times the offending was alleged to have occurred.

She said the credibility of the child’s statement would be an issue at trial.

Ms Fox also said her client was not in a show cause position, and was proposing to relocate to outside Rockhampton to live with his daughter, and would be happy to report to police as needed.

Deciding to refuse Mr Hepburn bail, Magistrate Bevan Hughes noted the 72-year-old had a history of drug offending and was on a suspended prison sentence for recent drug offences at the time of the alleged offending for which he was applying for bail for.

Mr Hughes remanded Mr Hepburn in custody, directed a brief of evidence be disclosed to his lawyers on or before August 3, and adjourned the matters to August 17.

Originally published as Bail bid reveals details of 72-year-old Cairns man Brian Peter Hepburn’s alleged grooming of teenage girl