Evanston Qantas employee Hannah Neale in court for first time charged with child sex offences

A 29-year-old Qantas employee who has also worked for the Dept of Child Protection has faced court charged with sexually abusing a child for 18 months.

An Adelaide Qantas employee and Department of Child Protection contractor has appeared in court charged with child sex offences.

On Thursday, Hannah Neale, 29, faced Elizabeth Magistrates Court for the first time since her arrest in June, with the court hearing she would dispute the charges.

She asked the court to vary her bail to allow her to be within 500m of a school, and to communicate with children, for work.

Court records show Ms Neale is charged with sexually abusing a child, with allegations the offending took place from December 2021 to July last year.

Hannah Neale leaves Elizabeth Magistrates Court after appearing on child sex charges.

7NEWS has previously reported Ms Neale was a worker within the Department of Child Protection.

A department spokeswoman said Ms Neale was “not directly employed” by Child Protection.

They said they were unable to comment further because it was an active court matter.

Counsel for Ms Neale, of Evanston, said she had been employed with Qantas for a number of years and was considered “in high regard“. They were looking to clarify if she could still perform her work.

“It’s quite clear from (that letter) she stands in high regard,” her counsel told the court.

“There was a period when she had difficulty and they supported her through that and the employer requires more latitudinal information to be able to do that again.”

Defence submitted there was no risk to the community if the conditions were changed because “this is not the case of someone offending in the community … it is a very restricted matter”.

The court heard Ms Neale had no prior history of offending.

The court heard the current terms of Ms Neale’s bail meant she was not allowed within 500m of a school, childcare facility or kindergarten and could not communicate with anyone under the age of 18.

Defence counsel told Magistrate David White the conditions had affected her work.

“Employers rely upon the situation and her ability to carry out the inherent requirements of the job,” her counsel said.

“If there can be some modification to enable that to continue.”

Police prosecution said they were opposed to the application because of the serious nature of the offending, adding it was up to Mr White to determine if “partial flexibility” was relevant.

Mr White granted the bail variation and allowed Ms Neale to attend her work at the airport – approximately 400m from a school – and communicate with people under 18 for the express purpose of her “gainful employment”.

Ms Neale was remanded on continuing bail and left the court in tears, remaining silent as she walked to her car.

She will next appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court in November.

Qantas confirmed Ms Neale was a current employee, and they were aware of her charges, but said she did not work at the Adelaide Airport.

Qantas said they were unable to comment further as it was an active police matter.

Originally published as Evanston Qantas employee Hannah Neale in court for first time charged with child sex offences