Rapist jailed almost 40 years after sex crimes against teenage girl

It has been almost 40 years since a teenage girl was brutally raped in a Brisbane caravan park. Today, she has finally received justice with her rapist jailed.

"If you tell anyone I s****ed you it will be your fault."

These are the chilling words a man told a young girl after raping her.

It's taken 37 years, but finally the victim of his heinous attack has finally received justice.

Frank Beerens, 64, was found guilty of raping the teenage girl beside a dam at a Brisbane caravan park during the Christmas school holidays in 1984.

The Leyburn man appeared at Brisbane District Court via videolink on Wednesday where he was sentenced to seven years' jail.

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Prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the court how Beerens, then 27, had used his body weight to hold the girl down and told her afterwards: "If you tell anyone I s****ed you it will be your fault".

The court was told he was charged in 2015 after being interviewed by police, prompting Judge Brian Devereaux to question why there had been such an "extraordinary delay".

Ms Kelso said it was "simply a reflection of court processes in the regions" and a lack of court availability at Warwick, where the case was originally listed.

The court was told that at the time of the rape, Beerens was also committing sexual offences against another young girl.

Astoundingly, he had confessed to the crimes against that child and was charged in 1991 but Queensland Police did not pursue the charges.

He was later charged and pleaded guilty to four charges of indecent treatment of a child and was given a wholly suspended sentence at Warwick District Court in December last year.

Defence barrister David Jones said that after one of the girls confronted him in 1991 about the offending, he was triggered to seek treatment.

Mr Jones said the delays in the court proceedings had caused a "high degree of frustration" for the defence and that Beerens was not the same person he was in the '80s.

"His track record of recent years is one that is consistent with a man who has addressed his demons," he said.

Mr Jones noted that Beerens had confessed to having sexual intercourse with the girl which was the "most powerful weapon the prosecution had in their armoury".

Judge Devereaux noted the "long effect" Beerens's brazen offending had on the girl, who has had to "tell the story over and over to different counsellors without relief".

"The last five years, she says, have been an emotional rollercoaster waiting for the long court process," he said.

Judge Devereaux acknowledged Beerens's rehabilitation, telling him: "I see a low risk of you personally reoffending."

Beerens was sentenced to seven years' jail but will be eligible for parole in less than two years.

His parole eligibility date was set at May 27, 2022. - NewsRegional

 

*For 24-hour support phone Queensland's DVConnect on 1800 811 811 or MensLine on 1800 600 636, NSW's Domestic Violence Line on 1800 656 463 or the national hotline 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).