Missing texts in 7 star’s torture case
A Channel 7 television personality accused of a raft of assault and torture charges faces a delay in his case after a court was told a “significant” amount of material, including text messages, remains outstanding.
Multiple child abuse-related charges were first laid against the man and his partner in August 2023 by police, with the woman facing almost 80 charges including rape, indecent treatment of children under 16, torture and sexual assaults.
Police allege the offences occurred over 2005 and 2020.
The man is facing six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm while armed/in company, two counts of common assault, one count of observations or recordings in breach of privacy and two counts of torture.
Media have been prevented from identifying the pair - who appeared together on a prominent Channel 7 program - after the woman was granted a sweeping non-publication order by a Magistrate over concerns about her capacity for self-harm from further media coverage.
On Monday, the man’s case was briefly mentioned at Brisbane Magistrates Court.
The court was told the man’s lawyers had received a partial brief of evidence and required up to three weeks to review it and confirm their client’s instructions.
But police prosecutors said a “significant” amount of material was still outstanding.
“Our office sent an email to the arresting officer on the 13th of February,” a prosecutor told Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett.
“There’s the statement of a witness... some digital recordings of special witnesses I’m told, as well as screenshots of text messages.”
Magistrate Gett granted a four-week adjournment in line with the prosecution’s requests.
The man’s case will return to court on March 18 for mention. His bail was enlarged.
The woman’s case will be mentioned at Richlands Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
She was initially charged with 36 offences relating to the alleged serious child abuse allegations, and police charged her with a further 38 offences on November 7 last year.
Court documents seen by NCA NewsWire reveal those charges include further rape and child abuse charges spanning over several locations across Queensland dating back several years.
In October last year, the woman was granted a non-publication order by Magistrate Aaron Simpson after he found she was at risk of harming herself, should further media coverage identify her.
His ruling came after she attempted to self harm last month, according to court documents.
Queensland legislation previously prevented media outlets from identifying people charged with a “prescribed sexual offence” - including rape, attempted rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and sexual assault.
Changes to the legislation on October 3 softened restrictions on identifying people charged with the aforementioned offences.
Some of the more high profile cases identified as a result included Bruce Lehrmann, previously referred to as a “high profile man” and Ashley Paul Griffith, a child care worker charged with a raft of abuse offences.
Both of these cases are still before the courts and no pleas have been entered.
Magistrate Simpson’s ruling on the woman’s identity was one of the first non-publication orders implemented after Queensland’s new sexual offence identification laws were introduced.
