Sex offender guilty of perjury

A CHILD sex offender has been convicted of lying under oath while in the witness box on trial accused of raping a young girl.

The 71-year-old man, who cannot be legally identified, faced Townsville District Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to indecent treatment of a child and perjury.

He was 69 when he sexually touched his then partner’s 10year-old daughter multiple times in 2019, including once in a swimming pool.

A jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict at his first trial and then in May 2021 another jury convicted him of rape and two counts of indecent treatment of a child.

His sentence and convictions were overturned at appeal and the 71-year-old was set to face a third trial over the allegation he preyed upon the young girl.

Instead, the man pleaded guilty to the remaining offences and a new perjury charge after the rape charge was dropped.

Crown prosecutor Tom Hancock said the man was giving evidence before a jury in his second trial in May 2021 when he lied.

Mr Hancock said the man told the group he had never swum in the pool with the girl but then later admitted during cross examination that this was not true.

“He conceded that he told a deliberate untruth and the purpose of the untruth was to distance himself from the allegations,” he said.

Defence barrister Ross Malcomson said his client had already spent nine months in custody serving part of his sentence while his appeal was considered.

Judge John Coker gave the 71-year-old a head sentence of 15 months, suspended forthwith.

The man, who is now considered a reportable sex offender, must not commit another offence in three years or he risks being sent back to jail.