AUSTRALIA
ABC News
September 3, 2019
By Owen Jacques
A former Queensland deputy principal indecently assaulted a teenager at a wake after the funeral of the girl’s father in the 1990s, a court has heard.
Key points:
Kenneth Ralph Ernst, 60, from the Sunshine Coast, faces 15 charges for allegedly indecently assaulting the teen over six years in the 1990s
A friend testified in court that during a conversation about “first loves”, the victim broke down and began alleging a history of abuse by the accused
The victim says she was sexually abused from the age of 11 until 17
Kenneth Ralph Ernst, 60, from the Sunshine Coast, faces 15 charges for allegedly indecently assaulting the teen over the span of six years.
Mr Ernst, who worked in schools on the Sunshine Coast and in Cairns, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including indecent treatment of a child and attempted rape.
On Tuesday, the court heard from the victim’s mother, a friend, and an Anglican priest — who cannot be named for legal reasons — who were each told by the teen of the alleged assaults in the past five years.
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