A Queensland Safe Night Precinct security officer has been arrested over the alleged sexual assaults of four young women.
Police say the 23-year-old Sunshine Coast man met two of the alleged victims while on duty at the Maroochydore Safe Night Precinct, an entertainment area patrolled by state-funded security and safety officers aiming to reduce drug and alcohol-fuelled violence.
The Maroochydore man has been charged with offences against four females aged between 15 and 21.
The charges include rape, torture, strangulation, stalking, deprivation of liberty, extortion, hacking/misuse of computer, burglary and assault occasioning bodily harm.
Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield said it was "extremely concerning" the alleged perpetrator had been able to "to prey, effectively, on young, intoxicated women" while acting as a security guard.
He said two of the alleged victims that came forward "fit that criteria" and that there were similarities between the cases.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mansfield described the alleged offending as "despicable".
"[Police] will allege that there has been some coercive control over these victims," he said.
"They've been assaulted in some way aside from sexually assaulted."
Detective Senior Sergeant Mansfield clarified the accusation regarding the 15-year-old was a historical allegation and that "the offender at that time was a young man himself".
Online reporting tool sparked investigation
Detective Senior Sergeant Mansfield said the man was arrested after a joint investigation with Sunshine Coast detectives and the Brisbane-based sex crimes unit that was launched when one of the alleged victims used the police's online sex crimes reporting system.
"It's a tool that we like to get other victims to utilise if they feel feel threatened or they've had an incident where they're not sure about how they report it or go about it," he said.
"[The alleged victims] effectively felt that they've had nowhere to go, which is why I was to highlight this reporting online aspect.
"If they don't feel comfortable reporting it directly to police initially, we will be able to review those reports remotely and then engage with these potential victims."
Detective Senior Sergeant Mansfield said some of the alleged victims were "semi-known to each other" and at least one of the females had identified another as a possible victim, leading to further charges.
Detective Sergeant Mansfield said the offences were reported between December 2021 and the early months of this year and that the man was arrested yesterday.
"The reporting occurred earlier than that, but through the engagement and counselling of these young women, they've decided to come forward making their formal complaints now," he said.
Detective Senior Sergeant confirmed security companies were required to background check their employees, but he said such checks were "only as effective as the reported crime against any person, whether it's in the security industry or elsewhere".
The man was remanded in custody at Maroochydore Magistrates Court today and is expected to return to court next week.
Business operators 'shocked'
Sunshine Coast Safe Night Precinct Association president Alex Johns said the allegations were "plainly shocking".
"It's exactly the opposite of what the Safe Night Precinct is about. All of the work of a huge amount of stakeholders over a seven year period to try and make these precincts the Safe Night Precincts the safe places that they are for patrons and staff alike," he said.
"We take these accusations very seriously and I implore anyone else has any further information about this individual or any other person operating in the Safe Night Precinct — whether it's staff, whether it's linked directly to the SNP, whether it's just patrons — to come forward to police.
"To use those proper networks to make sure that any any offending, but particularly this type of very serious alleged offending, gets the sort of treatment that it deserves."
The accused's employer declined to comment.
