A man accused of multiple counts of rape from more than four decades ago allegedly treated a teenage girl in his care "as a prize in a card game", a court has heard.
The 75-year-old, who cannot be named, was granted bail in a Queensland court today to return to his home in country South Australia.
Detectives arrested the man this week at his home on SA's Eyre Peninsula, from where he was extradited to face court in Cairns over the alleged sexual abuse in 1978 and 1979.
Prosecutor Sergeant Stewart Clyde-Smith told the Cairns Magistrates Court the rape allegations "could be easily described as the most serious example of that charge".
"There are examples of tying up [and] essentially treating a young lady as a prize in a card game, and certainly against her will," he said.
"Certainly, in some instances, using very, very violent threats and very real threats where the complainant had a gun pressed to her head and, according to her statement, very really believed that she was to be killed in some of these instances."
Sergeant Clyde-Smith said the complainant, now in her 60s, "exercised extreme courage in coming forward with these complaints".
He told the court that "the initial complaints were made almost immediately … not to police, but to child protection".
"It was for some reason unbeknownst to the court and certainly [to me] as to why she was advised at the time not to proceed with a criminal complaint," Sergeant Clyde-Smith said.
Woman allegedly tracked down
The court heard the complainant was 17 at the time of the alleged offending and had been placed in the accused man's care.
It was alleged the offending began in Western Australia before they moved to Far North Queensland, and stopped when the complainant came of age.
But Sergeant Clyde-Smith told the court the man tracked down the complainant to her workplace in WA 28 years later and allegedly left threatening letters on her car.
The court heard an arrest warrant has been issued for the man in WA, although no charges have been laid there.
The Queensland charges include 25 counts of rape, 11 counts of indecent assault and one count of deprivation of liberty.
The court heard multiple other people remain under investigation in relation to the allegations and that prosecutors had concerns the man would contact them if released on bail.
Defence lawyer Bebe Mellick told the court the man now "effectively lives as a recluse" with his wife and children and that it was "just not realistic" for the him to abscond.
Mr Mellick said a long court backlog meant any eventual trial would be unlikely to begin until late 2024 at the earliest.
In granting the man bail, Magistrate Susan Warrington said the court did "have to take a rational approach balancing the rights of the defendant against the level of risk".
"Given the delay in having these matters finalised … I am satisfied the risks raised by the prosecution can be adequately mitigated by imposing conditions," she said.
The case returns to court on July 14.
