A man who repeatedly raped a young girl after breaking into her home in an ordeal lasting hours has been released because he is unfit to plead to the charges against him.

The man, who has an intellectual disability, had been in prison since his arrest shortly after the 2019 incident.

The court heard details of the horrific ordeal suffered by the girl and her friend, who was at her home for a sleepover.

The man, who was 29 at the time, entered the child's home through a back door at about 4am.

The court was told he had been drinking and had a significant blood alcohol level.

He went to the girl's bedroom, where she and her friend were asleep, and told her: "I've been watching you, I love you ... If you scream or make any noise, your family won't breathe."

'Frozen and scared'
Prosecutor Nathan Fawkes said the victim's friend was a witness to what was happening but was "frozen and scared", believing she may also be assaulted.

When the girl's father came home from work, his daughter told him there was someone hiding in the bathroom.

There was a struggle and the 29-year-old was held outside until police arrived.

He was charged with three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, three counts of indecent dealing, threatening to kill and aggravated burglary.

District Court Judge Wendy Gillan formally quashed the indictment on Wednesday.

She asked the man if he understood she was ordering his release and he said he did.

"What you did is very bad and very serious and you cannot do anything like that again," she told him.

"You must not drink, it's not good for you."

She said drinking alcohol was "very much a part" of the "very, very bad thing" that he did.

Mr Fawkes had argued for a custody order, saying that while the man had no prior criminal record, he had gone from nothing to "almost the top" in terms of the seriousness of offences.

He also sought to highlight that there was a bottle shop near where the man would be staying when released, and it was not known how many families lived in the area.

Drinking a 'massive concern'
But the man's lawyer Monica Snowball said there was "enough support to alleviate the risk to the community".

This support included 24/7 care at a suburban residence, where alcohol was banned.

The man's sister told the court he wouldn't be given cash because of his prior drinking issues.

"Drinking is a massive concern," she said.

The man had NDIS funding for behaviour support, including addressing boundaries, consent and healthy relationships, his inability to manage funds, and using alcohol in "maladaptive ways".


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/intellectually-disabled-child-rapist-rele...

Apart from that however, I am concerned that these young girls appear to have been at home overnight alone.  It wasn't until the father arrived home that police were called.