Toowoomba region teen guilty of 5 rape charges, sexual assault, released in 12 months

“Wasn’t me”: A Toowoomba region teenager lied about having multiple personality disorder after he raped his girlfriend at a public toilet block, but that was just the start of his vile sex crimes.

A Toowoomba region teen guilty of 5 rape charges, sexual assault, will be released in 12 months afer being sentenced.

A Darling Downs teenager who repeatedly raped his ex-partner while she was unconscious will spend a year in custody for his “vile” sex crimes.

The now 19-year-old had been on bail in the community since he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in a domestic violence setting in 2023, which he pleaded guilty to prior to his sentence on Thursday, May 15.

The victim impact statement of the survivor was read to the Toowoomba Supreme Court, in which she said her family believed in “innocent until proven guilty,” which caused her father and brothers to ostracize her.

She also said her stepmother forbid males in the family from being in her presence in case she wrongly accused them of sex crimes.

The now young woman, who’s struggling to come to terms with the effects of her lifelong trauma, asked the courts to issue a protection order, noting her rapist said she should be gutted, and told her to kill herself.

“Have fun with your freedom while it lasts,” he told her.

She then went to the police.

Despite the rapist vehemently denying the allegations when questioned, he confessed to the sex crimes during a pretext phone call.

“I said I wouldn’t do it again, and I did,” he told her.

“I’m really sorry.”

The court heard the first rape occurred in a public bathroom when the 17-year-old girl attempted to use the toilet.

When she confronted him then 17-year-old boyfriend about the non-consensual sex, he said he had a multiple personality disorder and he himself would never do such a thing.

The woman said the manipulation and lies increased her inability to trust others, noting she “wholeheartedly” believed the abuse she endured was her fault, and that she still struggled to talk about the sexual assault out of fear she would not be believed.

She said their relationship came to an end after the teenager attempted to have sex with her best friend.

Crown Prosecutor Peri Cardiff said the second incident occurred when the girl went to his home to retrieve her belongings.

She said the girl became sick after drinking alcoholic drinks quickly, so she went into a room to lie down, later waking up to find the teen raping her.

Ms Cardiff said the girl, who told the teen to stop and she was in pain, fell in and out of consciousness, often finding herself in different rooms of the house.

The protracted and painful rape, of every kind possible, was a two and a half-hour ordeal which left the woman with bruises and bite marks.

Ms Cardiff submitted a three to four year jail term, with 50 per cent of the time to be served before his release, and noted the survivor wanted a protection order to be in place upon his release.

Judge Craig Chowdhury said the circumstances were insufficient for the order to be made, however said the young woman could advance her right to the order before the lower courts.

District Court Judge Craig Chowdhury. Picture: Philip Norrish NO BY LINE

Barrister Nathan Edridge said the crime was serious and conceded his client’s conduct after was appalling, however said the young man had maintained his guilt since late 2023 and had written her a letter of apology.

He noted in the past, the young man’s mother told him to say he had a multiple personality disorder to get out of trouble.

Mr Edridge said the young man was prepared to serve time if it would be helpful for the survivor-victim to move on, however submitted that no time in custody was warranted due to the “unique case”.

He said the factors in favour of a lengthy community-based order rather than time included the man’s age, his prejudicial upbringing, which included sexual assault, his lack of history, remorse, guilty plea, and low to moderate risk of reoffending.

Judge Chowdhury said the serious and “vile” crime, which had a huge impact on the survivor, required an actual term of imprisonment to be served, noting the head sentence was 10 years.

He told the young man he must be “living under a rock” if he didn’t know about consent, noting other juveniles and men simply controlled their urges, and so should he.

Judge Chowdhury also said the teen was subjected to harmful views about sex at home and had a lack of guidance when it came to healthy behaviour and relationships.

He said he would reduce the jail term due to the young man’s own sexual abuse, prejudicial upbringing, and prospect of rehabilitation.

Judge Chowdhury noted the prevalence of child sex crimes was an “awful reality of humanity,” saying he often lay awake at night fearing how many Queensland children were suffering, let alone in the rest of the nation or world.

He said, gone were the times when the death penalty was imposed for child sex offences in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The soon-to-be 20-year-old was sentenced to a two-year jail term, to be released after serving 50 per cent of the time, and a two-year probation order to run concurrently.

Once automatically released, he will be subject to a probation order for one year with an additional provision to engage in a sexual offenders program.

No convictions were recorded.