Bail for two men accused of gang rape at birthday party 24 years ago


Two men from interstate have fronted a Queensland court over historic gang rape allegations, following claims by the victim that police destroyed key evidence.

It's been 24 years since the woman went to Queensland Police to report she'd been raped by a group of men in Brisbane's West End on her 21st birthday.

The two men fronted Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

The two men fronted Brisbane Magistrates Court today.Credit:Alamy

On Wednesday, two men accused of attacking her finally faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court after they were arrested in NSW and South Australia.

A 53-year-old, from Sydney, and a 43-year-old, from Adelaide, were both granted bail. A third man, from Brisbane, is due to face court via video link later on Wednesday.


The court was told police are still seeking two other men over the 1995 attack.

She is one of two women who've recently come forward and accused Queensland police of destroying important evidence in their sexual assault cases.

The claims have sparked state opposition calls for a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into how police handle evidence.

In April, she told the ABC that a detective informed her that her dress and underwear from the night of the attack had been destroyed.

A second woman has since told a similar story. She says a detective informed her that rape kit samples, gathered after her 2009 attack, had been destroyed.

Both women complained to police about the way their cases were handled.


Despite the alleged destruction of evidence, charges have recently been laid in both matters.

A 41-year-old man is currently before the courts over the 2009 attack.

The LNP opposition is demanding a full investigation, saying one claim of lost evidence is bad enough, but two is deeply alarming.

Police have responded to claims made by the woman at the centre of the 2009 attack, saying records of sexual assaults must be kept for 75 years and there's been "no decision made to destroy evidence".

The force also detailed a 2017 "administrative process" that involved transferring "general correspondence and historical hard copy investigation files between two archive locations".

"As part of this process, some paper records were disposed of in accordance with the Retention and Disposal Schedule. There were no physical exhibits stored, transferred or destroyed as part of this process," Queensland police said in a statement.


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