Nathaniel Canty acquitted of rape but guilty of exploitation material

A man who allegedly called himself a “pedo daddy” who was into bestiality has been found not guilty of raping a woman while forcing her to watch a child exploitation video.

Toowoomba man Nathaniel Thomas Canty

A regional Queensland man cleared of rape following a trial before the Toowoomba District Court has pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation material.

Nathaniel Thomas Canty stood trial before the higher court in late November on one count each of rape and sexual assault.

The Dungeons and Dragons player was alleged to have committed sex crimes against a woman he met online, and he allegedly forced her to watch child exploitation during the incident.

At the beginning of the trial, which was before a judge rather than a jury, Canty pleaded guilty to possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.
The court was told police found the child exploitation material when officers raided Canty’s Toowoomba unit soon after the complainant went to police.

Nathaniel Canty is on bail after pleading guilty to possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.

During the trial, the complainant told the court she went to the police with the intention to report Canty’s alleged interest in children, not the alleged rape, because she didn’t want to go through the stress of the justice system.

However, she ended up disclosing the alleged sexual assault and rape.

Minutes before the alleged rape, the woman told the court said Canty told her he liked kids who “were young enough to not to know what a c--k is”.

She also said Canty told her she couldn’t tell anyone what he allegedly did to her because she would get in trouble for watching child exploitation material.

During the alleged incident, she told the court Canty called himself a “pedo daddy” and allegedly said he wanted to get a dog to sexually assault her at the same time he assaulted a child.

The complainant told the court she resisted and tried to fight off Canty, and that he stopped the alleged rape and said her crying was “unattractive”.

She said he then sat in a computer chair and masturbated while watching the child exploitation material.

Nathaniel Canty is yet to be sentenced for possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.

Canty’s barrister, Jessica Goldie, instructed by McConnell & Saldumbide Criminal Lawyers, successfully argued there was reasonable doubt to suggest the complainant fabricated the rape to protect children from Canty.

Ms Goldie said inconsistencies between what the woman told police, a doctor, and her testimony proved she had fabricated the alleged rape.

She also said the allegation that Canty held the woman down with one hand and forced her eye open to watch the child exploitation was logistically implausible.

After Canty was found not guilty of rape and sexual assault, he was released on bail, awaiting his sentence for possessing and disseminating child abuse material.

The court heard the delay was to give Canty’s defence team time to get a psychologist’s report because Canty seemed to have ADHD or autism, which was said to have weight when it came to his punishment.

An update on the case will be provided to the court on December 10.

*Note: Information in the article has been limited to protect the identity of the complainant.

Queensland laws recently changed to allow victims of sexual assault the right to share their story.

However, rightfully so, the media can not report any details that may identify a complainant unless their permission is given.