The court heard that the former constable took the girl to the police station offered her and her friend ‘confiscated’ alcohol and kissed and had sexual intercourse with her on separate occasions
A former Police constable has been accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a police station while on duty and in uniform.
David Robert Blackbourne, 56, of New South Wales police also allegedly gave the teenager and her friend “confiscated” alcohol months prior, a jury heard.
Blackbourne pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, and one count holder of public office misconduct himself.
The case refers to alleged assault that occurred over two decades ago in 1998, when Blackbourne was 28, in a rural NSW town in Australia near the border of Victoria.
His trial began in the Downing Centre District Court on Monday, July 20 and is expected to span over five days.
The prosecution alleged that Mr Blackbourne and the teenage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had met on a few occasions, when the constable was working on a separate case.
The court heard that she knew him as ‘Dave’.
The court heard that on one occasion, towards the end of 1998, the teenager was walking with her friend when Mr Blackbourne and another unknown police officer allegedly offered the pair a lift home, but said they had to stop at the police station first.
Prosecution said at the station the officers offered the girls an alcoholic drink that they claimed to have ‘confiscated’.
The pair were shown around the station and cells before being dropped home, the jury were told.
Mr Blackbourne then picked up the teenager, who had recently turned 17, from a local pub in a marked police car a few months later.
The court were told that Blackbourne allegedly put handcuffs on the girl and put his tongue in her mouth without consent.
The girl alleged she then attended the police station in October 1998 to collect a police hat to borrow for a costume.
The court heard that Mr Blackbourne, dressed in his police uniform, said: “you’re not leaving yet”, before he kissed and put his tongue in her mouth without consent.
He is then accused of having sexual intercourse with her without consent.
The victim reported the alleged assault in 2016 to Victoria police before it was taken over by NSW police in November 2021.
In 2023, Mr Blackbourne was arrested and charged.
Barrister Matthew Johnston SC, defence, said they strongly dispute all allegations, and deny Mr Blackbourne ever picked the complainant up, handcuffed her or kissed her, or any sexual intercourse, either with or without consent.
They do not dispute that Mr Blackbourne was an acting police officer at the time of the alleged incident, however, they strongly dispute the acts of sexual intercourse, or of misconduct.
Johnston told the court that the quality and reliability of the evidence may be questioned throughout the trial, due to the incident occurring over two decades ago.
He said the jury must look “very carefully” at whether the complainant has actual recollections, or whether they were adopted by a phone call years later in 2020 with a police officer.
Judge Huw Baker SC told the jury the onus of proof remains with the Crown to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
The trial continues.
