Geraldton man pleads not guilty to indecently dealing with and sexually assaulting child

A Geraldton man has pleaded not guilty to indecently dealing with and sexually abusing his de facto child. The man, who cannot be named due to his relationship with the victim, appeared in Geraldton Magistrates Court on Thursday, where he pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including five counts of indecently dealing with a child who is a de facto relative and four charges of knowingly sexually penetrating a child who is a de facto relative. The charges range in dates, with the majority allegedly occurring between 2013 and 2015, while three of the charges allegedly took place in 2018. Magistrate Angus Hockton said those charges were all allegedly with the same victim, being the man’s de facto child, but the most recent charge from 2022 allegedly involved a different complainant, who was also a de facto relative to the accused man. He is set to reappear in court on September 28 for committal mention.