Kalgoorlie-Boulder grandfather faces trial for allegedly sexually assaulting two girls — aged six and eight

The lawyer of a Kalgoorlie-Boulder grandfather who allegedly sexually assaulted two girls — aged six and eight — has told a jury they might find it “interesting” the allegations were only formally reported after a “bitter break-up” between the man and the girls’ grandmother. The now 65-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the children’s identity, is accused of indecently dealing with one of his step-grandchildren three times, attempting to a fourth time, and sexually penetrating her when she was six years old in 2000. He is also accused of indecently dealing with a second step-granddaughter four times in one day during the second half of 2016 when she was eight. He is also charged with sexually penetrating the six-year-old while looking after her on school holidays. It is also alleged he touched her through her clothes, on two occasions — including once when he was “taking care” of her while she was unwell at home. On Tuesday, Kalgoorlie District Court was told the man vehemently denies each of the allegations, and he has pleaded not guilty to all nine sexual assault charges. Two of the charges — one against each girl — allege the man exposed himself to them. On one of those occasions, the then six-year-old says she was lying in her bed when he came out of the shower with a towel on. He is accused of walking towards her and removing the towel to expose his naked body while allegedly reaching out to touch her private parts, but she moved away. State prosecutor Katie Kemm said the second grandchild, who was eight-years-old in 2016, claims the man picked her up from school in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and, on the drive home, alleges he touched her leg and moved to touch her genitals, but she told him to stop. He is accused of exposing his penis and telling her give him oral sex, but she refused. On the drive, he is accused of touching her breast. Once back inside her family home, the man allegedly beckoned her to go with him to the back of the house before walking towards her and getting his penis out, continuing to beckon her. Ms Kemm said the girl’s mother and grandmother then returned to the address, and he stopped exposing himself to the child. She said it was common for allegations of this nature to take a long time to come to court because of the nature of the allegations and complex family relationships. Ms Kemm said each child made complaints to other adults at the time, but the investigation formally started in 2020 when then incidents from 2000 were reported to police, who followed up with the girls’ grandmother who told police there had been other incidents spoken about from 2016. She told the jury just because the matters had taken, in one instance, two decades to come to court, did not mean they did not happen. Defence lawyer Fiona Hugo told the jury they had only heard one part of the puzzle during Ms Kemm’s opening statements and reminded them they were required to give the man a “fair trial” the same as would be expected for “your brother, your father, your son”. Ms Hugo said jurors might be already judging the man because of the nature of the charges, or because the complainants were women. They should not, she said. “You might really want to believe them because that’s what the media tells us to do these days,” Ms Hugo said. “(The) whims of the media ... (have) no place here. “(He) says he is not guilty of these charges.” Ms Hugo said there was a “bit more” to the story, and suggested the jury might “find it interesting” the formal complaints were made after a bitter break-up between the man and the girls’ grandmother. Ms Kemm is expected to play pre-recorded evidence from the two complainants, which also include a cross-examination from Ms Hugo. The State is also expected to call at least three other witnesses. The trial continues.