Toowoomba rape case update: high-profile Australian seeks another six months of his accused’s phone records
- High-profile Australia accused of rape
- The alleged incident took place in October 2021
A high-profile man seeking another six months’ worth of phone records from the woman he allegedly raped will know within days if he has permission to see the files, a Queensland court has said.
The man was charged with two rapes in January over an alleged incident in Toowoomba, about 120 km west of Brisbane, in October 2021.
His identity remains protected under Queensland law, which prohibits the identification of those accused of sexual assault or rape until they stand trial.
A high-profile man seeking another six months’ worth of phone records from the woman he allegedly raped will know within days if he has permission to see the files, a court has said.
A full forensic download of the complainant’s telephone records had also been requested, but this has not yet been agreed.
Lawyer Rowan King, who is acting for the accused, had requested the full data download during a court hearing in July.
The court heard at the time that the alleged messages were ‘six months prior to the date of the violation’.
A prosecutor told the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday that her office had asked for further explanations from Mr King.
She said her office received Mr King’s response on August 3 and needed more time to respond.
“This request is still being processed by the bureau,” said the public prosecutor.
The court was told Mr King will be notified of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decision ‘within a week’.
The case was adjourned to August 23 for further hearing.
A forensic medical report (FMO) had previously been provided to Mr King upon request.
The court was told earlier in July that the request for alleged messages was ‘six months prior to the date of the offence’
Prosecutors will argue that the high-profile man and the alleged victim “were not known” to each other prior to the date of the alleged crime.
The suspect, who did not have to appear in court on Wednesday, had his bail continued.
Earlier this year, several media organizations unsuccessfully applied to the court for permission to name the man in the proceedings.
That request remains with the courts.