A defence barrister has told a Ballarat jury a seven-year-old boy complained he was molested because the accused dobbed him in for taking innapropriate photos of his sister.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In his closing address at the County Court at Ballarat on Friday, Anthony Pyne said the boy agreed he was a bit angry at the accused for dobbing him in for taking the photos of his sister.
“He disliked (the accused) for getting him into trouble,” Mr Pyne said.
He said the boy thought he was getting into trouble twice after his mother spoke to him about taking the photos, followed by his grandfather who was more angry than his mother.
Mr Pyne said another reason the boy made the complaint was to distract his parents following tensions arising in the household after they spoke about him taking the photos.
The accused, who The Courier has chosen not to name for legal reasons, told the boy’s father he saw the photos on the boy’s tablet and raised the issue again a few hours later, Mr Pyne said.
The boy’s grandfather then spoke to him about the photos and the boy complained the accused went into his bedroom and touched him inappropriately, the court was told during the trial.
“If (the accused) had been touching (the complainant) for weeks, why would he raise the photos on the iPad?” Mr Pyne asked the jury.
“He did what he thought was right by drawing attention to them.”
The accused, who boarded at the boy’s house, moved out a day after alerting the boy’s parents to the photos.
The prosecution alleges the accused inappropriately touched the boy multiple times in his bedroom over a three month period in 2016.
Crown prosecutor Patrick Bourke told the jury not to lose sight of what was important about the issue.
“What is important is what (the complainant) told his grandfather. The evidence on that is crystal clear,” Mr Bourke said.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to one count of an indecent act with or in the presence of a child under 16.
Judge Gavan Meredith will continue to direct the jury on Monday before retiring to consider its verdict.