Senior ALP Member Faces Teenager’s Rape Allegation
"In 1985 I joined the ALP. In 86 at the age of 16 I . . . became a delegate for state and national conferences. In 86 I went to a Young Labor camp down near Geelong . . . I was alone. At about 4 am there was a knock at my door. It was him at the door. He pushed me into a bathroom, up against a towel rail, pulled down my pants and raped me," - this was the statement posted through Facebook by a teenager who was allegedly raped by a senior Australian Labor Party (ALP) member back in 1980.
The teenager back then who refused to divulge her real identity revealed that the rape happened during an overnight camp held by the "Vanguard" movement of the state's Young Labor party, The Australian reports.
At present, the alleged victim had been working as a community nurse and had been residing on the NSW central coast. It was only in October 2013, that she lodged her rape complaint against the senior ALP member. The Victorian police said that an investigation is already underway.
According to the victim, she was drunk when the sexual assault happened. Based on her description, the rape could have happened at the Portarlington Holiday Complex owned and operated by the Federal Rubber and Allied Workers Union. The staff who had been working at the complex since 1986 confirmed that various union and Labor Party events were held at the complex. In fact there had been paperworks that can support these event bookings. However, the complex's management cannot locate the paper diary in which these bookings were recorded back then.
The victim told The Australian that she had spoken about the rape to a close friend whom she was living with at that time. This friend confirmed that indeed, the victim was raped when they were about 16 or 17 years old.
As per The Australian's research, there had been no record that the rape had been previously lodged through the Victoria Police.
The Victoria Police Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Unit said that investigation is already in the process, thus, they cannot comment regarding the matter.
"As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further," the Victoria Police told The Australian.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the senior ALP member at the center of the controversy said that the alleged rape was "unsubstantiated claims date back almost 30 years and they have never previously been raised with him. The unsubstantiated claims are absolutely without foundation and are distressing for his family and for him. He strongly denies any wrongdoing and will fully co-operate with any investigation. Police have not contacted him."