Surgery for girl ‘raped, tortured’

A TODDLER allegedly raped and tortured by her mother’s boyfriend was so brutally bashed she could not open her eyes, had a perforated ear drum and underwent surgery.

The man allegedly claimed the three-year-old girl was tired and had fallen off a table and hit her head, when her mother arrived at her Capalaba home from work.

The girl was taken to Redland Hospital in a critical condition by her mother and grandfather. She was examined by staff who alerted police.

The girl had external and internal injuries, with serious injuries to her head, arms and legs. She had surgery and is in a stable condition in Lady Cilento Hospital in Brisbane.

A 25-year-old man has been charged with nine offences including rape, torture, grievous bodily harm, leaving a child under 12 unattended, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, breach of a domestic violence order and drug offences.

He has been remanded in custody and is believed to have given police a number of versions of what happened.

It is believed the couple had been in a relationship for up to two years, and he was looking after the girl while her mother went to work each day. Neighbours described the girl as a “cute little muffin” who was well cared for by her mother.