Four men charged over alleged child abuse ring appear in Mackay court
Rape. Child grooming. Deprivation of liberty. Making child exploitation material. Four men have faced court for the first time on serious child abuse charges.
Police & Courts
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Four Mackay men have faced court for the first time charged with serious child abuse offences after a police raid on Friday.
The four accused appeared separately via video link from Mackay watch-house as duty solicitor Erin Beer applied for an adjournment on their respective bail applications.
The men - aged 49, 22, 21 and 19 - were not required to enter pleas to the charges during the brief mention in Mackay Magistrates Court.
The 49 year old is charged with five offences including grooming a child under 16 with intent to procure engagement in a sexual act, indecent treatment of a child under 16, owner etc permitting abuse of children, and rape.
The offending is alleged to have occurred between 2011 and 2021.
The 22 year old is charged with 14 offences including five counts of observations or recording in breach of privacy, two counts each of possessing child exploitation material, involving child in making child exploitation material, and indecent treatment of a child under 16.
He is also charged with carnal knowledge with or of children under 16, grooming, indecent treatment of a child (indecent film), and using the internet to procure children under 16.
The offending allegedly occurred between 2019 to 2021.
The 21 year old is charged with rape, possessing child exploitation material, involving a child in making child exploitation material and indecent treatment, and two counts each of carnal knowledge with or of children under 16 and grooming.
The alleged offending period is from 2016 to 2022.
The 19 year old is charged with rape, observations or recordings in breach of privacy, three counts of indecent treatment of children under 16, and two counts deprivation of liberty.
The alleged offending occurred between 2019 and 2021.
Three men were arrested on Friday when police attended a home at south of Mackay.
A fourth man later handed himself in to police.
The men cannot be named for legal reasons.
Magistrate Ron Muirhead adjourned all matters to Tuesday.
The men were remanded in custody.
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Originally published as Four men charged over alleged child abuse ring appear in Mackay court
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