Australian father 'drugged his daughter's underage friends and raped them', court hears

Defence barrister Simone Bain says her client admitted to the 'despicable situation' but he had not raped the girls

Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, Brisbane (KGBO/Creative Commons)

A father plied his daughter’s school-aged friends with drugs and alcohol before encouraging them to strip off and having sex with them, an Australian court has heard.

The 42-year-old has already been convicted of rape after his 14-year-old victim claimed she was forced and made a complaint to police.

The other girl, aged 17, claimed the sex was consensual, Brisbane Supreme Court heard.

The man's legal team originally claimed that the sex never took place, but in a change of tack, at the second trial the man admitted it happened but that is was entirely consensual.

Defence barrister Simone Bain told a panel of three Court of Appeal judges last week, that there were some “very contrary” aspects to the girls’ accounts.

She said that her client admitted the "despicable situation” of having plied the girls with alcohol and drugs before having sex with them, according to Byron Shire News.

But she said the man's actions could be described as "accompanying” the girls to the bedroom rather than "forcing” them.

Her client was appealing that the rape conviction should be set aside and replaced with unlawful carnal knowledge.

Crown prosecutor Vicki Lowry said the 14-year-old’s behaviour had been “somewhat unusual” but that it could be explained by her young age.

She also reportedly said it was “outdated” to analyse how a rape victim should or shouldn’t respond.