QLD:Intruder photographed sex abuse of toddler

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2011
QLD:Intruder photographed sex abuse of toddler

EDS NOTE: Language in pars 13 and 14.



By Larine Statham

BRISBANE, Aug 24 AAP - A man convicted of sexually abusing a three-year-old girl after
breaking into her parents' home has sacked his lawyers just hours before he was due to
be sentenced.

Craig Anthony Ellis, 31, appeared in the District Court in Brisbane on Wednesday afternoon
after last year pleading guilty to burglary and two counts of indecent treatment of a
child under 12.

Ellis had denied the charges but changed his plea midway through his trial last September.

During the trial, the court was told the toddler's parents were alerted to an intruder
in their Aspley home, in Brisbane's north, after being woken by muffled crying about 2.30am
(AEST) on January 21, 2009.

The girl's father told the court he crash tackled the naked intruder and held him until
police arrived.

He said Ellis put his pants back on and became submissive after he was able to press
buttons on his digital camera.

The mother said her daughter's pants were off and she was crying.

When police arrived to question Ellis, he said he'd been taking a night walk to photograph
the moon.

The court heard Ellis claimed he was investigating a noise inside the home, only to
be bashed by the occupants.

However, police said they retrieved 18 explicit images of the couple's daughter, taken
between 2.01am (AEST) and 2.31am, from the camera's partially-damaged digital memory chip.

On Wednesday, Ellis told the court he wanted to walk free because he'd been bashed
by police and forced under duress to change his plea.

He said he wanted new lawyers to represent him but crown prosecutor Vicki Loury said
sentencing should proceed.

Ellis called Ms Loury a "lying bitch" before threatening to kill the victim's mother,
who sat quietly with family at the back of the court.

"You raped your own child, you f***ing whore," he yelled.

Judge Michael Rackemann evicted Ellis from the court.

Judge Rackemann said he was mindful that it was in the public interest to have the
matter resolved as quickly as possible, acknowledging that it wasn't the first time legal
representation had been terminated in the Ellis case.

"It is genuinely regrettable that sentencing won't be done today and you won't have
closure," he told the family.

"But it's important things are done properly."

Judge Rackemann said he would adjourn the case one final time to ensure Ellis had legal
representation.

Ellis is scheduled to appear before the court on September 5 for sentencing.

AAP lcs/ht/dep/hn/

KEYWORD: ELLIS

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