Brisbane man granted bail on charge of raping 15-year-old girl

At the Brisbane Magistrates Court, a 19-year-old man from Brisbane, Australia was granted bail on Saturday after being charged with raping a 15-year-old girl late last week.

Magistrate John Costello granted the defendant bail on condition he report to the police station three times weekly, stay at home at his current address at night unless his work required otherwise, and contact neither complainant nor witness.

At the hearing, there was a question of whether the defendant knew the victim's age. Patrick Quinn, the defendant's lawyer, claimed she showed the defendant fake identification showing she was over 18, and only told him her real age the next day. Sergeant Scott Pearson, Police prosecutor, said the defendant's texts to friends indicated he was aware she was underage, and said one person advised he "get rid of the evidence". The court was told the girl maintained she had been honest about her age from the beginning and had not shown any false identification.

Consent was also questioned. Quinn argued all the sexual activity was consensual. The defendant admitted to oral and vaginal sex, but not sodomy.

The two had met Thursday night at the Royal George Hotel in Fortitude Valley before heading to his home around 3:00 local time. The man was charged with four counts of rape, as well as one count of unlawful sodomy of a person under 18 and three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.

The defendant is to be tested for disease. The Court is to resume the case on July 4, 2016.