High-profile man awaits response to phone data request in rape case

A high-profile man facing rape allegations is still waiting to see if he can access “six months” of phone data from the complainant, a court was told.

A high-profile man seeking a further six months of phone data from the woman he is alleged to have raped will know within days whether he has permission to access the files, a court has been told.

The man was charged with two counts of rape in January.

Toowoomba Criminal Investigation Branch detectives will allege in court the man was involved in the alleged incident in Toowoomba in October 2021.

His identity remains protected under Queensland law which prohibits the identification of those charged with sexual assault or rape offences until they are committed to stand trial.

The man was not required to appear before Toowoomba Courthouse on Wednesday. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

A full forensic download of the complainant’s phone records had also been requested, but has not yet been agreed to.

Lawyer Rowan King, who is acting for the man, had requested the full data download during the last court appearance in July.

The court was previously told in July the request was for alleged messages “six months prior to the offence date”.

The Director of Public Prosecutions prosecutor told the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday her office had requested further explanation from Mr King on why he needed parts of the complainant’s download.

She said her office received Mr King’s response on August 3 and required more time to respond.

“This request is still being considered by the office,” the DPP prosecutor said.

The court was told Mr King will be informed of the DPP decision “within the week”.

The matter was adjourned to August 23 for further mention.

A forensic medical report (FMO) had been previously disclosed to Mr King upon request.

The DPP will allege the man and the alleged victim “were not known” to each other prior to the date of the alleged offence.

The man, who was not required to appear, had his bail continued.

Earlier this year several media organisations, including News Corp Australia, unsuccessfully applied to the court seeking permission to name the man in the proceedings.

That application remains before the courts.