Girl asks parents to stop sex Dad admits indecency
A CHIEF judge has commented on the uniqueness of an offence after a father-of-six indecently exposed himself to his daughter.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, exposed himself twice to his daughter within a week.
The Townsville District Court heard that the man was having consensual sex with his wife on July 6 and July 12 last year.
His daughter told him to stop given the proximity of the children.
Crown prosecutor Monique Sheppard told the court the man did not comply with his daughter’s request.
“The indecency arises when he has continued to engage in that intercourse where he has known that the child was awake and the child wanted them to stop,” she said.
The man pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 (expose) lineal descendant/ guardian/carer.
The court heard the man had a four-page criminal history without any previous sex offences.
Defence barrister Michael Hibble told the court that his client was currently living with his parents after his marriage broke down following the incidents.
Due to the nature of the offence, a domestic violence ce
THE statue of Townsville’s namesake has been vandalised to look like it has blood on its hands.
The bronze statue of Robert Towns, on Ogden St near Bulletin Square, had red paint put on its hands on Sunday night.
Towns’ chequered history has been highlighted in recent months following the worldwide pressure to have statues of people involved in the slave trade removed.
Debate rages about whether Towns was part of the blackbirding trade, which involved tricking or coercing South Sea islander people to come to North Queensland and order had been against the man.
Mr Hibble said his client had not had contact with his wife or children since the offending and the offence could be described as “deficiency in parenting”.
“To do it again demonstrates there was a lack of insight,” he said.
Chief judge Kerry O’brien told the man his offending was unique.
“You have pleaded guilty to circumstances that are quite different and unusual from the circumstances which are usually associated with an offence of this nature,” he said.
The man was sentenced to 12 months’ probation.
Convictions were recorded taken out work on cane farms for little or no money.
The statue has made it into the media in recent weeks after Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested there was no history of slavery in Australia and when Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said there was little evidence linking Towns to blackbirding and there was no reason to remove the statue.
Townsville City Council CCTV captured vision of the act, which will assist police in identifying who was responsible.
“It is very disappointing that the statue of Robert Towns on our Pioneers Walk has been vandalised,” a council spokesman said
“The vandalism will be reported to the Queensland Police Service.”