Three schoolboys charged with the alleged sexual assault of a girl over several hours will remain in custody after a judge’s sharp criticism in court, referencing two separate alleged incidents involving Scots College students and the Sydney Swans.
The boys, all aged 17, allegedly sexually assaulted the 17-year-old girl at a home in the Macarthur region on August 15.
Two of the boys are understood to attend elite private school St Gregory’s College, located in Gregory Hills near Campbelltown.
In a Sydney court on Thursday, Judge Robert Rabbidge remanded all three boys into custody. They were refused bail.
During his remarks, he referenced the alleged sexual assault by Scots College boys and the Sydney Swans’ Melbourne hotel room scandal.
‘We certainly know how the community thinks about the men connected to the Swans football team,’ he said in court, according to the Daily Telegraph.
‘Today, in our beautiful country, we have young men willing to treat a young woman as an object.
‘The community is fed up with this sort of conduct, young men have to show respect to all persons, particularly young women. How would any young Australian woman feel comfortable surrounded by these three young men?’
Three schoolboys charged with the alleged sexual assault of a girl over several hours will remain in custod
The trio were arrested on Wednesday morning and charged with multiple offences.
One youth faces 11 charges, including six counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of others and three counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
Another teenager was charged with eight offences, including six counts of aggravated sexual assault in company, common assault and sexual intercourse without consent.
The third youth has been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, offender in company with others.
Police alleged in court that the teenager facing 11 charges attended a local football game with the girl before they went to a pub while underage.
The court was told the boy took her to his home and allegedly had sexual intercourse with her as she ‘kept saying no’ and attempted to fight back.
The youth allegedly ‘texted a friend to join in’, and the second boy then allegedly assaulted the girl, according to police prosecutors.
‘The (victim) was treated like an object, she wasn’t treated like a person. They were both too strong for her, she gave up fighting,’ prosecutor Sergeant Rhonda Riley told the court.
Two of the boys attend elite private school St Gregory’s College, located in Gregory Hills near Campbelltown
After several hours, prosecutors told the court the pair allegedly boasted to the third accused, invited him and ‘promised’ he could have sex with the girl.
‘She was asleep at the time and was woken up by one of the co-offenders,’ Sgt Riley told the court, adding that the alleged victim told the trio to ‘f*** off’.
The third boy allegedly had non-consensual sex with her before an alleged witness entered the room.
The court was told that after the alleged incident, the boys allegedly tried to give the girl money and attempted to contact witnesses.
Following news of the alleged assault, St Gregory’s College principal Matthew Brennan told parents in a letter seen by the Daily Mail that he was ‘very sorry’ to share the news that two students were due to face court in relation to an alleged sexual assault.
‘We express our deep concern for the young woman police have said was the victim of the alleged sexual assault and her family and loved ones,’ Mr Brennan said.
‘Sexual violence has no place in our community, and the College stands with all victims of sexual violence. It is abhorrent what is alleged by police and is the antithesis of what we stand for and the values that we embrace.
‘These are very serious allegations and the judicial process must now be allowed to take its course free of any commentary.’
St Gregory’s College principal Matthew Brennan told parents in a letter seen by the Daily Mail that he was ‘very sorry’ to share the news that two students were due to face court in relation to an alleged sexual assault
A St Gregory’s College spokesperson also told the Daily Mail the school could not comment any further ‘out of respect for the police investigation and judicial process now underway’.
The Marist Catholic school, which promotes a ‘You will reap what you sow’ motto on its website, costs more than $12,350 a year for Year 11 and 12 students.
It comes just one week after a separate incident, where three teenage boys were charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in a Bondi Junction alleyway.
The boys, all students from elite Sydney private school Scots College, allegedly assaulted the girl on July 22 after the group had been drinking together.
Two boys, aged 13 and 14, were each charged with aggravated sexual assault in company and two counts of aggravated sexual touching of another person.
A third teen, aged 14, was charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count of aggravated sexual touching of another person.
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