A university student who met a 15-year-old girl on Snapchat and then allegedly had sex with her and two of her friends in exchange for buying them alcohol claims he believed the girls were over the age of 16, Newcastle Local Court has heard.
Jordan Blick, 22, a first year student at the University of Newcastle, appeared in court in handcuffs on Thursday after he was arrested and charged with 13 offences, including 10 counts of having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 14 and 16.
Blick did not enter any pleas, but his solicitor, criminal defence lawyer James Janke, applied for bail, arguing the strength of the case against Mr Blick "rises and falls" on an alleged Snapchat message that police claim includes one of the girls telling the uni student she was 15.
According to court documents, one of the teenage girls received a friend request on Snapchat from Mr Blick earlier this month and the pair began communicating.
On September 10, after allegedly "persistently messaging" the girl, Mr Blick picked her up in her school uniform and drove her from Maitland over the Belmore Bridge towards Lorn.
The girl allegedly performed oral sex on him in his car before he dropped her back at her friend's house.
A few days later, Mr Blick again contacted the girl on Snapchat and allegedly requested "sexual contact" from her and two of her friends, who police say are also 15, in exchange for buying them alcohol.
He picked the three teenagers up from a cinema at Maitland and drove them to a carpark at the Maitland Regional Athletics Centre where police allege all three girls performed oral sex on him in the backseat.
He then drove the girls to a bottle shop and allegedly used their money to buy a 700ml bottle of vodka before dropping the girls back off.
Later that night, Mr Blick is accused of again contacting one of the girls and asking to meet up with her for sex. He is alleged to have picked her up from the cinema and again driven her to the carpark where the pair allegedly had sexual intercourse.
He dropped the girl back at the cinema again and this time she was unable to get back into the building. Police say her friends found her crying outside.
Mr Blick was arrested at a unit in Jesmond on Wednesday and police seized his vehicle and searched his home, seizing a number of items.
He was later charged with 13 offences and refused bail overnight by police.
Mr Janke applied for bail on Thursday, telling Magistrate Caleb Franklin that Mr Blick had no prior criminal record, had the support of his family and would be denying the allegations.
Mr Janke said the strength of the case "rises and falls" on the existence of a Snapchat message that police say includes one of the girls saying she was 15. He said if refused bail Mr Blick would spend years behind bars awaiting a trial.
Prosecutors opposed bail and despite Mr Franklin saying there was a strong case against Mr Blick and a likelihood he would receive a jail term if convicted, he said the combination of a number of factors, including the strict conditions proposed and his unblemished criminal record, meant the 22-year-old could be released on bail.
The bail conditions included reporting to police, a 24-hour curfew at a house on the mid north coast and a $5000 surety. The matter will return to court next month.
