Micah Umm, Noel Ninibil and Zebedee Liwi set to be sentenced over Charters Towers rape

Three men convicted over the rape of a woman near Charters Towers will learn their fate in front of a judge in the coming days.

Generic photo, Townsville Court House. Picture: Shae Beplate.

A 21-year-old rape victim was unconscious when she was raped beside a bridge on the Flinders Highway near Charters Towers, the District Court heard on Monday.

Facing court for sentence were three Papua New Guinea nationals who had been working on a produce farm near Charters Towers when the offence occurred on December 5, 2021.

Micah Umm had pleaded guilty to one count of rape and Noel Ninibil, 34, and Zebedee Luwi, 31, last week were found guilty by a District Court jury of deprivation of liberty, and one count of rape.

Both barristers Darin Honchin, appearing for Ninibil and Ross Malcomson, appearing for Luwi, said in their pre-sentence submissions that the fact the woman was unconscious during the rape had not been mentioned at all during the five day trial.

District Court Judge Gregory Lynham, appearing by video link from Brisbane, said it was a somewhat unusual case in that both Ninibil and Luwi were not physically involved in the rape they had been found guilty of due to the fact they had been in the near vicinity of where it had been committed by Umm.

Crown Prosecutor Monique Sheppard told the court that all three men had deprived the victim, Miss B, of her liberty and she had removed her clothing whilst in fear of what was to follow.

She said Miss B lost consciousness at some stage and although she gave no evidence that Umm had been involved, she must have been mistaken as the DNA evidence showed he had been the only one who had sex with her.

Ms Sheppard said Umm had left the vehicle and had sex with Miss B while she was unconscious.

Last week she told the jury that Miss B had a blood alcohol level of more than 0.2 at the time of the rape.

“The impact on the victim was significant and in her own words, she said ‘I blocked it out, that’s how I’ve got to live my life’.

Ms Sheppard asked for a sentence of 10-12 years’ imprisonment for Umm, and about eight years for Ninibil and Luwi.

Mr Honchin said Ninibil was the fourth born in a close family and as a Lutheran, attended church weekly while he worked at the Charters Towers farm.

He said this was Ninibil’s first job and he had no qualifications.

He said there was no evidence involving his client in the rape, other than his presence somewhere near the scene.

He asked for a five-year sentence for Ninibil.

Barrister Amanda Bain, appearing for Umm, said there was no evidence of planning or premeditation in the case and Umm was not involved in getting Miss B into the vehicle outside the White Horse Tavern in Charters Towers.

She said the case was more consistent with an opportunistic offence.

“There was no weapon and no threat of violence at all,” she said.

She asked for Judge Lynham to give a sentence to Umm of up to eight years.

Mr Malcomson said Luwi had accepted his role in the matter but, like Ninibil, he was not involved in the rape at all and had rather just been in the vicinity at the Macrossan Bridge.

He said Luwi was a father with a nine-year-old daughter and had come to Australia to help people in his village and to pay for his daughter’s school fees, which he had been unable to do during his time in custody, of more than two years.

Both Mr Honchin and Mr Malcomson asked for a suspended sentence of five years for their clients, given the significant time already spent in prison in pre-trial custody.

My Lynham said he would sentence the three men on Monday, March 25 at 2.30pm.

Originally published as Micah Umm, Noel Ninibil and Zebedee Liwi set to be sentenced over Charters Towers rape