NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles defends crime response after two alleged daylight rapes in one week – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

A 56-year-old man has faced court in Darwin over the alleged broad daylight rape of a woman in a busy inner city laneway.

The sexual assault allegedly happened in Austin Lane, which runs just behind the Top End city’s main pedestrian walkway Smith Street Mall, on Tuesday about 4pm.

Northern Territory Police said the man was arrested a short time after the incident and charged with sexual intercourse without consent.

He was remanded in custody following a court hearing on Thursday. 

It was the second alleged daylight rape in inner-city Darwin in less than a week.

A 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with sexual intercourse without consent after he allegedly assaulted a woman near the Darwin Bus Exchange at 2pm on September 28.

The ABC can’t name the alleged perpetrators because the NT is the only jurisdiction in Australia where the names of alleged sexual offenders are suppressed until they are committed to stand trial.

NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said officers responded “very quickly” to the two alleged sexual assaults.

“The victims in these matters are both being cared for through the right counselling processes,”…