Joseph Lee Smith charged with multiple child sex related matters to be put before the higher court

The 48-year-old former doctor has been charged with multiple child grooming and associated charges. Here’s what happened in his latest court mention.

After almost four years since his arrest, a former Gatton doctor charged with using the internet to groom children under 16 years of age and other child sex related matters has had his case taken up to the higher court.

Joseph Lee Smith was arrested in Toowoomba in 2019 after police claimed he had befriended an underage boy in Victoria via Instagram before encouraging the boy to send him images of him dancing naked.

The 48-year-old has been held in custody since his arrest and was not required to be in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday when his charges were mentioned.

His solicitor Ryan McCullough, of MacDonald Law, told the court a registry committal had been done to take most of the more serious charges up to the District Court and any charges still left in the Magistrates Court jurisdiction would eventually be taken up to the higher court as well.

It was expected an indictment would be presented before the District Court in the coming sittings in Toowoomba, he said.

Smith, who briefly worked as a doctor for Queensland Health at the Nambour and Gatton Hospitals and Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, was initially charged with more than 130 charges which included 41 counts of grooming a child under 16, eight counts of using the internet to procure a child under 16, aggravated supply of a drug to a minor and rape.

He has not as yet been required to enter any pleas to the charges.

Acting magistrate Kay Ryan on Wednesday remanded him in custody and adjourned the case for mention back in the same court on June 21.