Pedophile uses daughter as bait to lure girl, 12, from skate park before drugging and raping her
A father used his young daughter as bait to kidnap a girl, 12, at a skate park in North West Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, April 28, after which he drugged and raped her, court documents revealed.
Brett John Callaghan, 37, had allegedly drugged the child and lured her to a flat located in the back of his parent's property in Dural. His alleged victim had visited a shopping center along with her friends on Tuesday before heading to a skate park where she was allegedly kidnapped by Callaghan and later sexually abused. According to court documents, Callaghan had abducted the child from the skate park in the afternoon.
At the same time, he had been with his young daughter, the Daily Mail reports. The police revealed that the child was seen leaving the Thornleigh skate park along with an unknown man and a child. The victim was later reported missing at around 5.30 pm when she did not show up to meet her parents at Hornsby Westfield.
Callaghan was charged with taking and detaining with intent to obtain an advantage, aggravated sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 years and sexually touching another person without consent on Wednesday, April 29. A court hearing found that Callaghan was "quite obviously under the influence of illicit drugs."
NSW Police Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec is of the opinion that Callaghan's own child was used as bait to build some trust with the victim but the two children did not know each other. "We're not sure but we can suspect this other young girl was with this male... that gave her a sense of comfort, sense of safety to say, this guy may be a parent and it's OK to leave with them," Detective Kerlatec told reporters on Wednesday.
"There is a concern for all parents at this time when restrictions are being lifted that we have people preying on vulnerable children," he revealed.
Hornsby Local Court magistrate Bruce Williams had revealed that Callaghan had reportedly given drugs to the girl. He has been accused of kissing and rubbing the child's legs between 4.30 pm and 1 am. He also allegedly raped her during those hours.
He has not been charged with drug-related offenses though a police spokeswoman revealed, "that is still subject to an ongoing investigation." After a lot of inquiries, detectives were able to locate and arrest Callaghan at a home in Dural, where the girl was also found at around 1.15 am.
The authorities also believe that the child was sexually assaulted by Callaghan while in the vehicle on the way to the Dural home. Detective Kerlatec had said the family of the victim was totally distraught. The child was taken to a hospital for assessment.
There was a crime scene established at the home and a car was seized, which will be sent for a forensic examination. Callaghan did not know the girl prior to the incident and was taken to the Hornsby Police Station. The other child is in the care of the family.