A sexual assault complaint made to police by a prominent singer-songwriter was not adequately investigated until the alleged victim spoke out in a television interview two years later, a court has been told.
But by that time, police had lost the opportunity to gather crucial evidence, now putting the case in doubt.
Jaguar Jonze became one of the first artists to speak out against the poor treatment of women in the local music industry.Credit: SBS
Deena Lynch, who performs under the name Jaguar Jonze, was allegedly sexually assaulted in the early hours of March 24, 2019, by two music producers she had known for a matter of days.
The incident allegedly occurred over several hours at The Bowler Bar in the Fortitude Valley nightclub precinct. The venue has since closed.
Lynch made a formal complaint to police in June 2019 and finalised her statement a month later.
While police had carriage of the matter, Lynch became one of the first artists to speak out against the poor treatment of women in the local music industry.
She posted allegations on Twitter in July 2020 about being sexually assaulted. She claimed two men put their hands inside her clothing and underneath her underwear, kissed her without consent, and pressured her to not speak out.
In May 2021, Lynch was interviewed on Ten’s The Project and alleged the attackers also ran their hands down her thighs and said her boyfriend didn’t need to know.
In June 2021, Queensland detectives charged 32-year-old Adelaide man Matthew Khabbaz and 34-year-old Sydney man Jesse Sewell with sexual assault and common assault.
On Thursday, their cases returned to Brisbane Magistrates Court. Sewell was in court but Khabbaz was not. For this and other legal reasons, Brisbane Times has chosen not to include pictures of either.
Barrister Craig Eberhardt, acting for Khabbaz, accused police of failing “to take the most basic and obvious investigative steps”, such as talking to the people Lynch had named to make them aware of the allegations, or downloading data from their phones.
“Nothing was done in relation to the investigation until after the complainant appeared on The Project,” Eberhardt said.
“We’re unable to get any CCTV or ID scanning records from The Bowler Bar, and they did not download the complainant’s phone, so we are unable to see her social media usage between the critical hours of 12am and 3am.
“We’re unable to prove what time my client attended the bar and what time he left, and we’re unable to use video footage to attempt to identify witnesses who could speak to the events inside the nightclub in the three hours.”
Eberhardt said the failure to download data and messages from Lynch’s phone was of particular concern to lawyers representing the accused men.
“Part of her story is that, effectively, over a period of hours … in a crowded nightclub with bartenders and security staff and all these sorts of people, she was being subjected to ongoing sexual assaults by these two men,” he said.
Jaguar Jonze during a media call ahead of “Eurovision – Australia Decides” at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in February.Credit: Matt Roberts/Getty
“And yet, she didn’t use her phone during that period of time to tell anyone, seek help, or seek assistance from any of the hundreds of people within close proximity to her at the nightclub.”
Magistrate Andrew Moloney appeared unimpressed with police, saying they could still get statements from witnesses that the defence wanted to cross-examine.
“With respect to the QPS and the manner in which this matter has been investigated, I can’t say I have faith in that,” Moloney said.
“It would be in the substantial interests of justice that these gentlemen be brought before the court and questioned regarding these issues.”
The case will return to court in November.