Man accused of sexually assaulting daughter found not guilty in Hervey Bay District Court

A man accused of digitally raping his daughter at their home committed his actions while he was asleep, his defence barrister successfully argued.

A man has been found not guilty of rape. FILE PHOTO

A man has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting his daughter in the Hervey Bay District Court on Tuesday afternoon.

He was accused by crown prosecution to have digitally raped his daughter at their home in the early hours of January 31, 2024.

The man’s defence barrister, Richard Taylor, argued throughout the case the man committed the actions while he was asleep and never had any problems with his other children, whom he regularly shared the bed with in their childhoods.

He was fully acquitted of the one count of rape and will face no further criminal charges.

Earlier on Tuesday, the prosecution and defence gave their closing submissions to a jury.

Defence Barrister Richard Taylor began by reiterating the man does not dispute what had happened, but whether he was awake at the time, explaining to the jury the actions may have been done unconsciously.

Additionally, the defence argued that because the alleged offending happened about 2am, the man’s actions were likely done in his sleep.

He recounted a provision in the criminal code, saying: “A person is not criminally responsible for their actions if they occur involuntarily”.

“This case quite simply involves your consideration on whether you can exclude beyond reasonable doubt that (he) was asleep at the time,” Mr Taylor said.

Mr Taylor then asked the jury why the man would do such an act when they had “co-slept” with all of their children with no prior problems.

“This is not the case of a sex offender creeping around schools or getting children alone to prey on,” he said.

He then touched on the “sorry” that was said immediately after the incident, stating it was an action of a loving father who was worried about his upset child.

“To suggest the ‘sorry’ in this case was one of an admission of guilt misconceives the true context of what was happening.”

Crown Prosecutor Aden Tranent denied the theory the man was asleep at the time of the offending, and questioned the movements the defendant would have had to make in his sleep.

“(The man’s finger) would have had to have been underneath the pyjama shorts and positioned at an angle to enable the defendant to penetrate the area,” Mr Tranent said.

They allege the defendant grabbed the girl’s leg when she tried to move away from his penetrating finger.

The prosecution also argued the “sorry” was an admission of guilt after the man’s partner confronted him.

“The defendant, recognising what he had done, said sorry, which the crown would say was an admission to the act that he had just committed,” Mr Tranent said.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Mr Tranent alleged that the man digitally raped his daughter after a night of drinking at their Kawungan home on January 31, 2024.

The alleged rape took place while the nine-year-old and her mother slept in a kingsize bed that the father also used.

It was about 2am the girl woke to her father allegedly inserting his finger underneath her pyjama shorts and into her vagina.

He stopped “a period of time later after she was awake and had become cognisant of what was occurring”, Mr Tranent said.

The man’s actions caused the girl to become distressed in the aftermath as she cried out for her mother to tell her what had happened.

The alleged assault was done with enough force that it caused the girl physical pain.

The prosecution will allege the man confessed to his fiancee immediately after the incident on two separate occasions by saying “sorry”, before trying to say the girl was “overreacting”.

The mother of the girl and fiancee of the defendant took her to a spare bedroom following the incident.

Mr Taylor also made an opening statement arguing the actions were done in the defendant’s sleep, telling the jury to “pay attention to the evidence very carefully”.

“When she was questioned by police, she said: ‘he was still sleeping’,” Mr Taylor said.

“This is a case of consequences and whether or not consequences apply to a person who is sleeping.”

Mr Taylor also addressed his client reportedly saying sorry immediately after the actions were done.

“In that state of waking up, seeing his distressed daughter, saying sorry,” Mr Taylor told the jury.

“A person may say sorry for a number of reasons, but it is not always an acknowledgment of guilt.”

Originally published as Man accused of sexually assaulting daughter found not guilty in Hervey Bay District Court