Jury acquits Kingaroy man of child rape, finds him guilty of indecent treatment

A Kingaroy man has been acquitted of raping his seven-year-old stepdaughter but convicted of a lesser charge, following a three-day jury deliberation in the Kingaroy District Court.

Kingaroy Magistrates Court. File Photo.

A Kingaroy man who was on trial for the rape and indecent treatment of his seven-year-old stepdaughter was found not guilty of rape but guilty of a lesser charge.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, pleaded not guilty in the Kingaroy District Court on Wednesday to one count of rape and one count of indecent treatment of a child under 16, under 12.

The jury had three options for the first charge, the primary charge of rape, a lesser charge of attempted rape, or another lesser charge of indecent treatment of a child.

On Saturday, after deliberating for some time, the jury found the man not guilty of both charges but guilty for the lesser charge on count one, indecent treatment of a child under 16, under 12.

During the trial, crown prosecutor Hamish McIntyre said that in 2021, the girl told police about a man “she called dad”.

The court heard the rape allegedly happened when some of the children were sleeping in the lounge room on mattresses, and the man walked in and committed the act.

Mr McIntyre said the man had allegedly touched the girl on another occasion in front of her brother, who gave evidence in the form of a prerecorded interview.

“He saw [the man] touching [the girl] down on the ‘rude part,’ on the bed,” Mr McIntyre said.

The first witness called was the girl’s sister, who testified that her sister told her their stepfather had “touched her”.

“She used her hand and showed gestures of what he’s done,” the young woman said.

The police interviews with the girl and her brother were also played to the jury behind closed doors.

On the second day of the trial, the man took the stand in his own defence, where he denied the accusations against him.

He said it was usually his job to wake the two siblings and described it as a prolonged process as they would keep trying to go back to sleep.

He said he would usually resort to tickling the children on their ribs to get them up.

Kingaroy Magistrates Court. File Photo.

When asked about the girl’s brother seeing him touch the girl inappropriately, he rejected the assertion.

“I’m saying he couldn’t have seen anything because I didn’t do anything,” the man said.

Mr McIntyre pressed the man and suggested he walked into the lounge room when the kids were sleeping on mattresses and raped the girl.

“I know for a fact I didn’t,” the man replied.

The court also heard there were no physical injuries when the girl was taken to the doctor the next day.

In his closing statement, the man’s barrister, Tristan Carlos, highlighted the “ambiguity” of the evidence and the “unlikelihood” that someone would act in that way when the risk was so incredibly high.

He said the two most important witnesses in the trial, the two children, had expressed doubts about their accusations.

Mr Carlos referenced the girl’s police interview and highlighted one quote she made.

“I don’t think he did, but I’m not sure,” Mr Carlos said, quoting the girl.

He also pointed out another instance where the girl suggested she may have been asleep during the alleged rape.

However, Mr McIntyre said the girl had told multiple family members about the alleged offences not long after they allegedly happened.

He said the girl said in her interview that she “never dreamt of that”.

“She maintained that what she told the police was the truth,” Mr McIntyre said.

The jury began deliberations on Thursday, deliberated throughout Friday, and returned on Saturday, reaching a verdict at about 11am.

For count one, the jury found him not guilty of rape, not guilty of the lesser charge of attempted rape, but guilty of indecent treatment of a child.

They also found him not guilty of the second count, indecent treatment of a child.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, to serve the full term.

Originally published as Jury acquits Kingaroy man of child rape, finds him guilty of indecent treatment