ACT Magistrates Court suppresses name of alleged child abuser

The alleged abuser faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, when he pleaded not guilty to a raft of new charges.

These included having carnal knowledge of a girl aged between 10 and 15, and five counts of assault involving an act of indecency. The dates of the alleged crimes ranged from 1976 to 1981.

The alleged offender, who was self-represented, appeared via audio visual link but initially had difficulty hearing the court.

At one stage, he appeared to be holding his ear up to the camera in an effort to listen to proceedings.

Special magistrate Sean Richter issued a temporary non-publication order on the alleged abuser's name, previous address, age, and occupation.

Prosecutor Greta Cuthel had opposed this, saying the alleged victim "has been extremely firm in her position that she doesn't want any order made".

"I make this application strongly on her instructions," Ms Cuthel argued.

Mr Richter made a temporary order and adjourned the case to December 7 for further argument on whether it would remain.

Last week, Mr Richter suppressed most of the details in the case of a father accused of historical incest.

There is an automatic prohibition on publishing the identity of alleged sex offence victims in the territory, which can lead to the name of the accused person also being suppressed.

However, with the alleged victim's consent, names can be published by the media.

The current non-publication order in this case prevents the man from being named even with consent.

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On Wednesday, the alleged offender was assisted by a younger man, who was later warned by the court he was a potential witness in the case and his involvement was "inappropriate".

Mr Richter urged the alleged offender to seek legal advice.

"I strongly encourage you to go to Legal Aid and get legal representation," he said.

"If he doesn't do that, he might find himself unrepresented in a trial in the Supreme Court."

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