Assaults ‘common’ in Coast nightclubs
A LEADING Gold Coast criminal lawyer has called out a double standard in the reporting of sexual assaults on the Gold Coast.
“It seems there are different moral standards depending upon the context,” Moloney MacCallum boss, Campbell MacCallum, yesterday told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
“It’s extremely common for a woman, in a bar or nightclub, to be touched on the bottom with some sort of comment made but complaints are rarely or never made because of the time and place of the incident.
“It seems to be accepted that if you’re in a nightclub or bar, there is some sort of excuse or justification and unfortunately it’s considered not as serious. But if you were in the line at the supermarket or out running that is considered as being much more serious.”
The comments come after 24-yearold mother of two, Jesse Ratu, was allegedly groped five times on her buttocks by a stranger at weekend outside her Southport home after a morning run.
Another long-time Southport lawyer, McMillan Criminal Law principal, Michael McMillan, said 80 per cent of his practice was now people charged with sexual offending “of some description”.
“There has been a huge surge in sexual misconduct but it’s often in the workplace, taxis or behind closed doors,” he said.
“Most of the offenders are not this brazen. In fact, there is very little offending in the daytime and the reason is because it’s such a brazen act and identification is easy.
“Most offenders know they’re not supposed to be doing what they’re doing, so they do it under the radar.”
Mr McMillan said most people who groped others in public were repeat offenders with underlying mental illness.
“They are people who have got a problem. Often it is mental illness that has followed them through their lives and they have an inability to control their sexual urges.
“For a lot of them, they’re like exhibitionists. It’s about being seen by their victim. They don’t go that far but it’s the excitement that is generated in their mind when they see how the victim reacts.”
Southport Police operations leader Senior Sergeant Brendan Wiblen said unprovoked assaults were a “relatively rare event”.
“Be aware of your surroundings, if (you) are or approached attacked move to safe place,” he said.
“If you’re being followed, go into a shop and contact police immediately.”
MOST OFFENDERS ARE NOT THIS BRAZEN ... (THEY) KNOW THEY’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING WHAT THEY’RE DOING, SO THEY DO IT UNDER THE RADAR
Sen-Sgt Wiblen said police had obtained “high quality CCTV” of the weekend incident involving Ms Ratu.
“At the moment we believe our most fruitful line of inquiry is local inquires,” he said. “We think he is a local person and we are hoping he is quickly identified.”
The officer said police did not know what motivated the man to commit the lurid act but encouraged him to hand himself in to authorities.
“We want him to attend at the police station and explain his course of conduct,” Sen-Sgt Wiblen said.
“If associates recognise him we’d also like them to contact us.”
A Gold Coast police spokesman said police encouraged “anyone who is in a similar situation to report the incident to police immediately”.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe as they go about their daily lives,” they added through a statement.