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Senior Queensland detective faces sacking but not charges over non-consensual sex claims

Tribunal hears officer does not dispute encounters with two women but says sex was consensual

By LineZotpaper
Published
Updated
Read Time2 min
Sources4 outlets
A senior Queensland police officer could be sacked over allegations he had non-consensual rough sex with two women, but will not be prosecuted over the claims. The allegations surfaced at a Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing into the police sanction against the officer.

The detective senior sergeant was alleged to have spiked the women's drinks before engaging in extreme sex, though a criminal investigation found there was not enough evidence for him to be charged.

The women, who met the officer at a gym where he was an instructor, reported the incidents to the Crime and Corruption Commission and then to police in 2020, after realising they had had similar experiences in 2016 and 2018.

The first woman told police the officer had watched her in a public bathroom and attempted to have sex with her at her home, and slapped her while they were drunk. Another time, he had rough sex with her in a public shower at a camping ground. On another occasion, he used zip ties and rope to restrain her during sex and poured a red substance over her while she was restrained.

The second woman said she was plied with alcohol, slapped in the face multiple times, engaged in rough and demeaning sex, and was restrained with bondage materials during sex.

The officer did not deny the events happened, but believed the sex was consensual and that the intoxication was "mid-range", QCAT Member Richard Oliver said.

"On the females' recollection, it was forced upon them and there is even an inference that they were drugged," he said.

Following an investigation by the Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command, Assistant Commissioner Maurice Carless decided the officer should be dismissed for misconduct in February 2022.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The case tests whether police officers accused of serious sexual misconduct can remain in the force when criminal charges cannot be laid.
  • The two women gave strikingly similar accounts of separate incidents in 2016 and 2018, including allegations of drink-spiking, slapping and restraint.
  • The QCAT ruling will determine whether the police sanction against the officer stands.

Background

QCAT reviews appeals against police disciplinary sanctions, including dismissal. In this case the officer was investigated by the Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command, and an assistant commissioner decided in February 2022 that he should be dismissed for misconduct. The tribunal hearing has now brought the allegations into public view. The officer accepts the encounters occurred but disputes that they were non-consensual.

Key Perspectives

The two women: They allege the officer forced sex upon them, slapped them, restrained them and, on their recollection, possibly drugged them. Their reports to the Crime and Corruption Commission and police came in 2020 after they realised they had shared similar experiences. The officer: He does not deny the events happened but maintains the sex was consensual and the intoxication was only "mid-range", which is the central dispute before the tribunal. Queensland Police Service: Its Ethical Standards Command investigated and concluded the officer should be dismissed for misconduct, a decision now under review.

What to Watch

  • Whether QCAT upholds, varies or sets aside the dismissal decision.
  • Any findings on the drink-spiking allegation, which was not tested in a criminal court.
  • Whether the outcome prompts further action from the Crime and Corruption Commission, which received the women's first reports.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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