Gympie woman accused of child sex abuse was ‘obsessive’ with alleged victim

The defendant would often try to isolate the alleged victim and ensure the pair spent considerable time together alone at either person’s household or during religious meetings, the Gympie District Court heard on Friday.

A now 30-year-old Gympie woman was “obsessive” with her alleged young victim and would constantly try to isolate her at religious and family-friend gatherings in order to molest the child, a court has heard.

A now 30-year-old Gympie woman was “obsessive” with her alleged young victim and would constantly try to isolate her at religious and family-friend gatherings in order to molest the child, a court has heard.

The trial involving the woman continued into a fourth day in the Gympie District Court on Friday (July 16), with the alleged victim’s mother taking to the witness stand throughout the afternoon.

The woman, who was a family friend of the victim during the alleged offending in the 2000s, had earlier pleaded not guilty to two charges of rape, along with nine charges of indecent treatment of a child under 12 years.

The alleged victim’s mother testified she and her family, as well as the defendant and her family, were all members of a local religious congregation throughout their time spent together as close family friends, and at the times the alleged offences occurred.

The woman said she remembered the defendant and her family would often come to their house up to five nights a week, sometimes after they all attended religious meetings.

The defendant would often try to isolate the alleged victim and ensure the pair spent considerable time together alone at either person’s household or during the religious meetings, the court heard.

The witness said her daughter, aged as young as two when the families began spending time together, began having troubles with bed wetting and urinary infections and would wear pull-ups until she was about 10 or 11.

The witness further recalled a specific occasion on which her family was having a garage sale, and she found the defendant and the alleged victim in the bath together, both naked.

She said she “became angry” and pulled the plug, removing the alleged victim from the bath.

The woman told the court on another occasion she found her daughter alone with the alleged defendant in a car outside the church where both families were attending a religious meeting.

On later occasions the alleged victim’s mother heard her daughter yelling at the defendant, telling her she hated her and to “go away”, the court heard.

On one such occasion the pair were in a bathroom and the alleged victim was fully clothed, while the defendant said “She’s being ridiculous, she’s trying to have a shower with her clothes on”.

The witness told the court the families’ friendship came to an acrimonious end in about 2011, and they would only see each other again when the witness’ mother died in 2015.

Regional news at the heart of our best journalism

The witness said her daughter eventually came forward with allegations the defendant had molested her after she was caught shoplifting in 2017.

The witness underwent extensive cross-examination regarding her daughter’s revelation to her and subsequent police interviews.

The defendant’s lawyer asked the witness why she had not mentioned anything about the bath incident until speaking with the crown prosecutor just two days prior to her questioning.

The trial is expected to continue when District Court proceedings resume on Monday (July 19).

Originally published as Gympie woman accused of child sex abuse was ‘obsessive’ with alleged victim