Darling Downs teen boy on trial for raping girl on camping trip

A young regional Queensland man accused of taking advantage of a teenage girl on a camping trip with mates is standing trial before a Toowoomba judge.

Darling Downs girl was allegedly raped on camping trip by another teen, after she was ill from drinking too much alcohol. Picture: File

While the nation’s eye fixated on a closed court hearing involving alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann, down the hall a young man, found guilty of rape earlier this month, stood trial for the rape of a second alleged victim.

The Toowoomba Children’s Court heard the girl was on a camping trip with several teens when she was allegedly taken advantage of by the young man and raped in the back of his car.

Under Queensland law, the young man cannot be named due to his age.

During the judge’s trial on Monday, June 17, the Crown called a number of witnesses, one of which was one of two boys who organised the last-minute trip.

A young regional Queensland man accused of taking advantage of a teenage girl on a camping with mates is standing trial before a Toowoomba judge on the Darling Downs.

He told the court he and a mate set up camp before a few other teens arrived in separate vehicles, and during the night the alleged victim became very drunk and ill.

The witness said he hadn’t seen the pair socialising that day or night, and after he was woken by his mate and alerted to the crying girl, he questioned the alleged rapist twice during the night.

He told the court the first time he asked the teen if he raped the young woman he said no, but the second time the said words to the effect of, “yeah, I did”.

The latter was news to the boy’s legal team, who asked for a short adjournment of the proceedings so they could obtain clear instructions from the teen and his parents, along with court transcripts of new evidence.

The Crown closed their case, however it is not yet known if the young man will give evidence during the trial, and the court is yet to hear the boy’s legal team’s closing submissions.

When the previous witness was questioned by Barrister Hurly, he confirmed he didn’t tell police of the boy’s allegedly confessed when he gave his statement because he “didn’t want to get involved”.

When a Toowoomba Child Protection Unit investigator was called to the witness stand, he was asked by Barrister Hurley, if he or anyone else from the unit had attempted to speak with the witness a second time – the investigator said no.

A number of other witnesses were called to give evidence during the part-heard trial which included other teens present, the young woman’s boyfriend, and the sergeant stationed at a Darling Downs police station.

Judge Dennis Lynch KC adjourned the trial to resume two days later on Thursday, June 20.

Last month when the alleged rapist was found guilty of a different rape charge, he was remanded in custody while Judge Nathan Jarro considered his judgment which will be handed down in September 2024.