Damages demand after being falsely accused of raping girl, 2

A man wrongly jailed over the rape of a two-year-old girl is suing the Northern Territory for malicious prosecution.

Tennant Creek Police Station, where the man was initially held after his arrest. Picture: AAP

A man wrongly jailed over the rape of a two-year-old girl in Tennant Creek is suing the Northern Territory for malicious prosecution, claiming police were motivated by “public pressure for a quick arrest”.

In his statement of claim, ­obtained by The Australian, the man says NT police unlawfully ­arrested and detained him for 103 days without forensic evidence linking him to the crime.

In the eight-page statement by the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, the man claims police and correctional officers were violent, made threats and denied him medical treatment while in ­custody.

The Australian revealed on Monday that, within months of being raped, the girl was taken to live in a remote community with no permanent police presence more than 300km from a major centre. Three years later, NT child protection authorities say the girl is thriving.

On the evening of the rape — February 15, 2018 — the girl’s mother had let the man into their house to sleep and he had gone into the middle bedroom.

Sometime after 10pm when the mother, the victim and her sibling had fallen asleep on a mattress in the living room, Kingsley Corbett sneaked into the home and took the baby girl into an nearby room where he raped her.

The next day, police arrested the innocent man and took him to the watch-house, before transferring him to the Alice Springs Correctional Centre on February 21.

Meanwhile, forensic test ­results identified Corbett’s DNA on the child’s nappy and other crime-scene exhibits. On May 30, 2018 — after Corbett had been charged — the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew charges against the other man and he was released. The man — who has since returned to Tennant Creek — is claiming general damages, aggravated damages, exemplary dam­ages, interest and costs.

He claims the wrongful arrest and imprisonment caused him to suffer loss, damage, pain, suffering, shock, fear, distress and ­humiliation.

“The defendant had numerous opportunities throughout the 103 days to release him as more information became available to the defendant,” the statement claims.

“The defendant otherwise conducted an insufficient investigation which directly led to the wrongful arrest and false imprisonment of the plaintiff.”

The claim argues the apprehending officers did not have reasonable grounds to believe he had committed the assault.

“The police officers were motivated by malice or improper purpose in bringing the proceedings against the plaintiff,” the statement claims. “In addition, the ­defendant was motivated by the improper purpose of public pressure for a quick arrest. In addition, the defendant was motivated by the improper purpose of securing a second ­arrest before withdrawing charges against the plaintiff.”

The claim, for an unknown amount in damages, is expected to be settled soon. NAAJA, NT Police and Chief Minister Michael Gunner all declined to comment. A personal injury lawyer at a Darwin law firm said, given the motives claimed and the duration of incarceration, the man could be seeking up to $1m in total damages, particularly given the high-profile nature of the ­alleged offending.