LANGLANDS SEX CHARGES
RUGBY league immortal Graeme “Changa” Langlands is facing child sex charges dating back to his time as the owner of a juice bar on the Gold Coast.
The former Australian captain faces six charges of indecent treatment of a child under 16 in the 1980s.
NSW police served the 76-year-old with a warrant two weeks ago at the Sydney nursing home where he is suffering from dementia so severe that it is unlikely he will ever face court.
The case was scheduled to be heard for the first time in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 6, but was brought forward to yesterday in an attempt to suppress the allegations.
RUGBY league Immortal Graeme Langlands has been hit with six child sex charges stemming from his time on the Gold Coast in the 1980s.
But the 76-year-old, who has dementia, may never face trial after it was revealed in court he would undergo a mental health assessment to determine if he was fit to answer the charges.
On behalf of Queensland Police’s Child Abuse and Sexual Crimes Group, NSW detectives last month charged Langlands, who lives in a Sutherland Shire nursing home, with six counts of indecent treatment of a girl under 16.
The crimes allegedly took place on the Gold Coast in the 1980s, when Langlands ran a juice bar at Australia Fair.
His family yesterday leapt to the defence of the former St George and Australian captain known universally as “Changa”.
“My brother Graeme has always been, and is, a good man. I am shocked at this allegation, he is just not that type,” his sister Paula Langlands said.
“His colleagues have always admired Graeme and looked up to him, supported him on the field and off and would readily agree that Graeme is basically a gentleman and would deny this allegation if his current mental and physical health allowed.”
His daughter Monique was made aware of the likelihood of charges three weeks ago. She immediately hired a lawyer.
The case was scheduled to be heard for the first time in Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 6, but was brought forward to yesterday in an attempt to suppress the allegations.
Lawyer Colin Townes, acting on behalf of Langlands’ Sydney solicitors, said the former St George fullback could not make the trip to Queensland to defend the charges because of his health.
Magistrate Suzette Coates recommended his Sydney lawyers organise a psychiatric assessment and rejected the need for bail given Langlands’ dementia. The case was adjourned to Monday.
Langlands was named the fifth rugby league “Immortal” in 1999 after 45 Tests for the Kangaroos between 1963 and 1975 and four premierships with the Dragons.
He moved to the Gold Coast after his playing career and was on the coaching staff at the region’s original NRL franchise, the Giants, during the late 1980s, where he was a strength and fitness coach. The Giants entered the NSWRL in 1988 and played out of the Seagulls Stadium at Tweed Heads.
Langlands ran a juice bar for several years before leaving the Coast to run bars in southeast Asia.
An NRL spokesman would not speculate on whether Langlands would be stripped of his Immortals status.