22 people charged with 48 counts of serious sexual offences in November

16 of the 20 victims of serious sex offences in November were under the age of 18 years.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions says 22 people have been charged with a total of 48 counts of separate incidents in November. There were 24 cases of rape, 1 case of attempted rape, 2 cases of aiding and abetting rape, 1 case of abduction of a young person, 1 case of indecent assault, 2 cases of defilement and 17 cases of sexual assault.

A 12-year-old boy was charged with two counts of sexual assault of his 5-year-old half-brother. There were nine incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another.

A 67-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 12-year-old granddaughter.

A 43-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault of his 15-year-old daughter while in another incident, a 35-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 15-year-old sister.

In another incident, a 26-year-old man was charged with representative counts of sexual assault of his 11-year-old niece.

The DPP’s Office says a 40-year-old man was charged with the rape and unlawful wounding of his 28-year-old de facto partner.

There was one incident where a 47-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 51-year-old aunt.

A 26-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old girl, however, this matter was withdrawn after both victims admitted to making a false statement.

The accused was in a de facto relationship with one of the victims.

There was one incident where a 35-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were charged with representative counts of rape and aiding and abetting rape of a 12-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl on different occasions. The accused persons are husband and wife and the victims are daughters of their house girl.

A 59-year-old pastor was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a 31-year-old woman who attended his church. There was one incident where a 40-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. The accused and the victim were neighbours.

A 33-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a 40-year-old woman, however, this matter was discontinued after the victim was unable to verbalise what had happened to her in court.