Accused sex offender sent back to the community where the abuse allegedly took place

AN ACCUSED child sex offender has been bailed to return to the community where the abuse allegedly took place after being charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

An accused child sex offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been allowed to return to his home community.

AN ACCUSED child sex offender has been bailed to return to the remote NT community where the abuse allegedly took place after being charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

The 32-year-old, whose name is suppressed by law, was due to catch a charter flight back to his home community on Wednesday after facing the Darwin Local Court charged with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

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Police allege the man was driving around the community some time in 2018 when he picked up the girl and drove to a spot outside town where the first assault occurred before dropping her off, warning her “not to say anything otherwise he would hurt (her)”.

On another occasion, police say the man again picked the girl up and again forced her to have sex with him against her will.

But in applying for bail on the man’s behalf, his lawyer James Stuchbery, told the court police had not been able to corroborate the girl’s statement and the man could be facing up to a year on remand if he was not released.

“(It’s) not necessarily fatal to the Crown case but it will make it very, very difficult for the Crown in the absence of any corroboration, which over the last two days in (the community) on the ground, taking statements, they haven’t been able to get,” he said.

Mr Stuchbery said the girl now lived in Darwin, and while his client had a lengthy criminal history it mostly involved traffic offences, apart from an aggravated assault dating back to 2011.

“Sending him back (there) in my submission does not represent any risk at all to the complainant,” he said.

“Nor does it represent any risk to the community more broadly given the fact that he’s been in that community — I can’t say he’s been living an entirely law abiding life — but certainly without getting into any major trouble or trouble of this kind.”

Mr Stuchbery said he was also concerned that the girl had used a name similar but slightly different to that of the accused man at times throughout her statement.

“Suffice to say, your honour, that I personally know more than one person by the (other name) who lives in (that community),” he said.

“I can’t say what the degree of specificity is with respect to identification by the complainant but on the basis of what we’ve been given, which is not much, I’ve got some real concerns about how it has come to be that (my client) is the person who’s been ultimately arrested by police.”

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In granting bail, judge Elisabeth Armitage said she was satisfied the man could return to the remote community without posing a risk to other children

“There’s nothing in your criminal history that suggests you might generally be a risk to young people in the community,” she said.