Charges laid over injuries

A TOOWOOMBA couple have faced court over charges relating to injuries suffered by a two-year-old girl.

Both the Queensland Police and the Crime and Corruption Commission were involved in the matter, which was alerted to authorities in November 2018.

Details of the case, dubbed Operation Terne, were highlighted in the CCC’s recentlyreleased 2019-20 annual report.

The child was reportedly taken to Toowoomba Hospital with fractures to several parts of her body, some of which were already healing.

“The CCC was involved in a QPS investigation into the alleged torture and grievous bodily harm of a two-year-old girl who presented at the Toowoomba Base Hospital in November 2018 with fractures to her shin, thigh and arm,” the report said.

“The shin fracture was older than the other two and healing.

“The fractures to the thigh and arm were considered to be around five days old, likely to have occurred at the same time and as a result of high impact force that would have caused immediate pain and affected use of the limbs.

“The mother of the child and her partner were not able to explain how the injuries may have occurred.”

The report said the CCC held a hearing in Brisbane during the first of the last financial year, which led to charges being laid in November last year.

“A CCC hearing was undertaken in Brisbane over three days, during which five witnesses were examined,” it said.

“The hearing resulted in information confirming the time-frame of the injuries and who may have inflicted at least the arm injury.

“Statements were also obtained from two previously uncooperative witnesses, supporting other evidence arising from the police investigation.”

The couple appeared briefly before Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Friday, each charged with “failing to provide the necessaries” as the charge read on the court papers.

They stood quietly at the bar table beside solicitors Nathan Bouchier, for the 21year-old woman, and Brad Skuse, for the 22-year-old man, as an adjournment was sought so Legal Aid funding could be arranged for each defendant.

Neither accused was required to enter a plea to their respective charge.

Magistrate Howard Osborne remanded both accused on bail and adjourned the case for mention back in the same court on November 13 when both will be required to appear.