Student victim of Townsville teacher Joshua Smith-Monaghan says justice not served by death in Townsville prison

A schoolgirl who was allegedly raped by her former teacher says his suicide in custody has deprived her and at least four other victims from obtaining justice.

A Townsville schoolgirl, pictured. says the suicide of her alleged rapist in the Townsville Correctional Centre last week deprives her and four other victims and their families the right to seek justice. Picture: Evan Morgan

A Townsville schoolgirl who was allegedly groomed and raped by her former teacher says his suicide in custody has deprived her and at least four other victims from obtaining justice and closure.

The 16-year-old victim also alleged that the death of Joshua Robert Smith-Monaghan in the Townsville Correctional Centre would mean that the true extent of his offending, including the number of victims, would likely never be known.

“I’ve got mixed emotions,” she said of his death, “now there is nothing we can do and now he doesn’t have to answer for anything he’s done.”

“People are just going to turn around and say, ‘well, he was never found guilty’, so there’s a lot of unfairness and the justice system has failed in a sense.”

The girl questioned how Smith-Monaghan, who allegedly began grooming her at school when she was 15 before allegedly raping her when she was 16, was able to kill himself in jail.

The alleged 16-year-old victim of former Townsville teacher Joshua Robert Smith-Monaghan and her mother in Townsville. Picture: Evan Morgan

The charges Smith-Monaghan, 35, was facing and his risk of further offending were considered so grave that he was denied bail when he appeared in the Townsville Magistrates Court last week.

The 35-year-old was facing a total of 14 alleged sex crimes against five victims aged 10 to 16 over a four-year period, with the most recent charge alleged to have occurred last month.

The charges were four counts of rape, eight counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 and two counts of using the internet to procure a child aged under 16.

No pleas had been entered.

Smith-Monaghan is understood to have taught at at least two high schools and two state primary schools, all in Townsville.

The 16-year-old victim alleged her grooming started at high school and continued on social media after he stopped teaching late last year before he first attempted to force himself on her.

She alleged she was raped four times in May and July, just after she had turned 16.

“He kept pushing for me to do it before my birthday but I kept trying to push it back.”

Of the rape charges involving the much older man, the girl said, “there was a point where I had consented but I felt like I didn’t really have the option to say ‘no’.”

The girl’s mother confirmed concerns about the relationship between her daughter and Smith-Monaghan were first raised in late May on Stymie, an anonymous online reporting system used in Queensland schools.

She said she told her guidance counsellor at the time that the allegations were false as she did not know about the other alleged victims.

“I felt as if I had a sense of obligation to protect him … I felt like he’d never actually done anything wrong with me even though I knew what was going on was wrong.”

Her mother said her daughter was still being groomed at the time.

She said her daughter’s friends banded together to lodge another complaint on Stymie, saying she understood the information had been passed to the Department of Education and then Queensland Police Service.

One of Smith-Monaghan’s alleged five victims. Picture: Evan Morgan

Legal Aid Queensland, representing Smith-Monaghan in court, said it was unable to comment.

The department declined to answer multiple questions, saying it was a QPS matter.

QPS confirmed on Friday that detectives from the Corrective Services Investigations Unit were investigating the death at TCC.

“This death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner,” a spokesperson said.

“As these investigations are ongoing it is not appropriate to provide further details.”

Townsville Catholic Education confirmed Smith-Monaghan was employed as a casual assistant in after-school care from May to November in 2015 but that there had been no complaints against him during this period.

The Townsville Correctional Centre. Picture: Evan Morgan

Townsville Corrections Centre

The death of alleged child sex offender Joshua Robert Smith-Monaghan in custody is the third suicide in Townsville Corrections Centre in the last five years but the second in 2024.

The majority of prison cells in Queensland include the enclosure of window openings to prevent access to security bars and “anti-ligature” features to prevent self-harm, including to taps, showers and light fittings, desks, beds, wall mirrors and combined toilet basin fixtures.

A Queensland Corrective Services spokesperson said it was unable to comment on Smith-Monaghan’s death as it was an “active matter”.

“All deaths in custody are investigated by the Queensland Police Services and Coroner,” they said.

“QCS continues to take action on addressing concerns or recommendations made by the Coroner.”

The spokesperson said that as of June 30, 92.9 per cent of all secure cells across Queensland had the safer cell design with cell fit-out works underway at “older style facilities”.

“Every high security correctional centre has safer cell designs to mitigate the risk of prisoner self-harm with a range of accommodation options available to manage at-risk behaviours.”

The spokesperson said all prisoners underwent a thorough assessment on reception, including “evaluation of their health and any risk factors they may have”.

“Prisoners identified as being at risk of self-harm are placed in the most appropriate accommodation to keep them safe,” they said.

“They also receive necessary supervision, monitoring and access to medical, psychological and other relevant supports.”

QCS said it employed comprehensive suicide prevention activities, including training to identify and respond to self-harm factors, triggers and warning signs and “robust procedures to manage acute risk”.

Originally published as Student victim of Townsville teacher Joshua Smith-Monaghan says justice not served by death in Townsville prison