Quash bid ruled out
BAIL CONTINUED FOR CAR SALESMAN ON CHILD SEX CHARGES
A TOWNSVILLE lawyer representing a car salesman on child abuse charges has tried to suppress his client’s name from being published in an application to the court.
John Gerard Starmer, 65, sat in the public gallery of the Townsville Magistrates Court, accompanied by defence barrister Harvey Walters on Tuesday morning.
Mr Starmer is facing charges of indecent treatment of child under 16 (expose), five counts of indecent treatment of children under 16 and unlawful stalking.
Police will allege the accused abused a 15-year-old boy he met in his role as a welcomer through Townsville Catholic Diocese.
He then allegedly befriended the family, and used the new relationship outside of church to sexually abuse the boy multiple times at his family home and in public spaces over the next year-and-a-half.
Police will allege the boy told Mr Starmer to stay away, but he ignored the teen’s pleas and stalked him. The boy eventually told his mother about what happened, and she reported the alleged actions to the Catholic Diocese at the start of September.
At Mr Starmer’s first appearance on Tuesday, Mr Walters asked Magistrate Cathy Wadley for a “non-publication” order for the first and further appearances for his client until he was “committed for a trial”.
He tendered front-page copies of coverage by the Townsville Bulletin in Tuesday’s paper regarding Mr Starmer’s charges.
He said “something had to be done”, after his client was named.
“This is a race to the bottom of journalism . . . I expect something to be done about this,” Mr Walters said.
But Ms Wadley said she did not have the power to make such an order because it was a public court.
Mr Walters said he wanted to make it “clear to the press” that nothing should be published until Mr Starmer was committed to a trial.
Under Queensland law, journalists reporting on courts are generally allowed to identify persons charged with the indecent treatment of children.
Journalists from ABC and Seven News were also present for Mr Starmer’s matter.
The accused will next appear for a mention on November 2, and his bail was continued.