Gympie region man found guilty of rape, carnal knowledge of child

A Gympie region man has been found guilty of raping his daughter’s intellectually impaired friend multiple times, with the court hearing he told the girl to ‘shush’ during the acts.

A Gympie region man has been found guilty of raping his daughter’s intellectually impaired friend multiple times, with the court hearing he told the girl to “shush” during the acts.

A Gympie region man has been found guilty of raping his daughter’s intellectually impaired friend multiple times, with the court hearing he told the girl to “shush” during the acts.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim and is aged in his 70s, was found guilty by a jury of 13 charges including six counts of rape and carnal knowledge, three counts of rape by digital penetration, and four counts of indecent dealing with a person with an impairment of the mind while as a carer.

The jury’s verdict was returned Friday, the same day the trial ended after four days at the Gympie District Court.

The jury heard in the prosecution’s opening submissions the man assaulted the young girl on six different occasions with the first offence happening while the man’s family was away at Bundaberg.

She was home with the defendant and he approached her asking if she had ever had sex, the court was told.

When she said “no”, he took her to his son’s bedroom and had penetrative sex with her.

The jury was told “she said stop, let me up”, and he told her to “shush”, that “it’s fine”, and “no-one is here”.

The second rape happened in same home in the room previously occupied by his daughter, who had moved out to another part of the property.

On this occasion the girl, who now lived in the room in question, was in the shower when the defendant approached her.

The jury was told he first washed her while she was in the shower, then followed her into her room and, before she could dress, raped her again, once more telling her to “shush”.

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The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim and is aged in his 70s, was found guilty by a jury of 13 charges including six counts of rape and carnal knowledge, three counts of rape by digital penetration, and four counts of indecent dealing with a person with an impairment of the mind while as a carer. Photo Patrick Woods / Gympie Times

The third incident again happened while the girl was in the shower with the man this time digitally penetrating her when “she was not expecting it”, and the fourth involved penile rape in the same bedroom.

On the fifth occasion the man digitally penetrated her in the same room while the man’s family was away at Ipswich, the jury was told.

The final offence occurred outside a regional community hall.

He had parked the car near the building, and then he and his victim got out of the vehicle, pulled their pants down, and then had sex in the back of the car.

Jurors were told the crimes only came to light several months later when a friend of the girl, who had since moved out of the man’s home, asked her if she had ever had sex before.

She replied by asking “does a friend’s dad count?”, the jury was told.

Originally published as Gympie region man found guilty of rape, carnal knowledge of child