Wedding singer accused of rape
A Queensland musician charged with committing 52 offences, including sexual assault after he allegedly connected with women online, will spend his first night in his own bed three months after his arrest.
Police allege Daniel James Stoneman, 34, committed the offences after using dating applications and other platforms to connect with women in the Brisbane and Gold Coast areas between 2019 and 2023.
The Queensland wedding singer was charged with 18 sexual assault and related offences in March and April this year after a search warrant was executed at his Logan home in March.
Following further investigations, police slapped Mr Stoneman with an additional 34 charges in May, including 24 counts of distributing intimate images, four counts of rape and one count each of attempting to commit rape, choking, recordings in breach of privacy and unlawful stalking.
No pleas have been entered.
The DPP will allege in court at least eight separate women made complaints, with four of the women alleging they were raped and six of them alleging their images were distributed without their consent.
Mr Stoneman applied for bail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday.
His barrister Craig Eberhardt KC told the court his client had “not coped” while on remand to the detriment of his mental health.
The court also was told two of the alleged victims were aware they were being filmed by Mr Stoneman and one was even allegedly encouraged by him to send the video to others.
Mr Eberhardt said while the charges related to distributing images weren’t the focus of the bail application, he said the court must consider whether the complainant was “distressed at all”.
Mr Eberhardt said since one of the complainants had shared the video with others, Mr Stoneman’s “state of mind” at the time of disseminating the material wasn’t “evil”, as he believed she didn’t have an issue with it because of her own actions.
Justice Bradley said he found the argument that the alleged offence was “less serious” because the woman had sent the same video to another person “distinctly unattractive”.
“Are we back in the world where we say if a woman has intercourse with someone, the raping of her is not as serious?
“One would hope you wouldn’t bring to focus what used to be brought to women in the 1950s.”
Mr Eberhardt said he wasn’t trying to suggest the woman was at fault during his argument but that the Crown would need to successfully prove the level of distress the complainant had suffered because of the video’s dissemination.
“It’s too hard to tell whether those issues will be disputed or not,” he said.
Mr Eberhardt said Mr Stoneman would agree to strict conditions on his bail, including a curfew and informing the DPP of when he planned to engage in a “non-platonic” relationship.
He also would agree to not use social media or dating apps as well as engage a counsellor to learn about relationships.
The DPP objected to the bail application.
The prosecutor said there were risks to women in the community should Mr Stoneman be granted bail even if he was not allowed on dating apps.
She said she was concerned that “he can meet women out in the real world”.
“What risk is ameliorated by telling my office about it,” she said.
“He meets women out in the real world, there is the risk.”
Justice Bradley granted Mr Stoneman’s bail on strict conditions.
He cannot leave his home unless supervised by his parents or until he’s set up an appointment with a counsellor.
