The man, aged in his 50s, applied for bail in the ACT Magistrates Court this week. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged child abuse.
A federal government public servant is alleged to have sexually abused a teenage girl who may have been “trafficked” from overseas into Australia, a court has heard.
The man, now aged in his 50s and who legally cannot be named, is not biologically related to the girl, but she is part of his extended family.
When she was about 13 in the early 2020s, he messaged her on Facebook and asked her to send him selfies for $50, it is alleged in court documents.
It is alleged she sent him these photos for several weeks before this progressed to him asking her to send him intimate photos for $500 to $600, to which she agreed. He allegedly referred to these requests as “deals”.
A couple of years later, the girl moved from her home country to Australia to live with family members. Then, she came to stay for a time with the man and his wife in Canberra when she was about 15.
While there, the man allegedly started offering her money for sexual favours, which she accepted and performed. For instance, after one alleged incident, he sent her $350.
Meanwhile, while at the home, the girl also allegedly found hidden cameras in a clock and a shampoo bottle in the bathroom. Later, another young member of her family allegedly found a USB in the man’s bedroom television that contained videos of both her and the girl.
Police learned about the allegations earlier this year and raided the man’s home.
The police said he told them he never had a sexual relationship with the girl. But after being shown messages on his phone, he claimed the girl had coerced and blackmailed him into committing sexual acts with him.
The man was arrested earlier this month and spent several weeks in custody before applying for bail in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday (25 March).
The man was refused bail and pleaded not guilty to all his charges. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
During the application, prosecutor Tahni Whybrow, who opposed bail, said there were concerns about how the “incredibly vulnerable” girl came to be living in Australia, with questions around whether she may have been “trafficked” into the country.
She said the man had been working for a federal government department when the girl moved to Australia and alleged there was “a change of money” while she was still living overseas.
His department confirmed he has now been suspended with pay, she said.
The man’s defence lawyer, Anastasia Qvist from Fortify Legal, argued there was no suggestion that her client, who was in custody for the first time, wouldn’t comply with bail conditions and nothing to suggest he knew where the girl lived.
Ms Qvist noted how police had already seized her client’s electronic devices and that he planned to “vigorously defend” the allegations against him.
She also said that while potential trafficking allegations had been raised, no charges had been laid over those claims.
Magistrate Ian Temby alleged the girl had been subjected to “coercion, controlling behaviour, grooming and blackmail from the defendant”, including electronically.
He was concerned about the risk of the man interfering with evidence if he was released on bail.
The magistrate said there had already been “obvious attempts by the defendant and his wife to destroy evidence”, as there was evidence the pair deleted data from both the man and the girl’s phones.
He refused bail and the matter was adjourned to May.
The man has indicated pleas of not guilty to all charges, including three counts of committing an act of indecency on a young person under special care.
He also faces single counts of using a carriage service to groom a person under 16, using a child for the production of child exploitation material, possessing child exploitation material, capturing visual data and using a carriage service for child abuse material.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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