Former Queensland State of Origin rugby league player Joshua McGuire has been committed to stand trial in the Brisbane District Court after appearing at a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, accused of one count each of common assault and strangulation allegedly committed against a child in Brisbane in November last year.
Former NRL player Joshua McGuire committed to stand trial over alleged assault of a child
Former Queensland State of Origin rugby league player Joshua McGuire has been committed to stand trial in the Brisbane District Court after appearing at a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday, accused of one count each of common assault and strangulation allegedly committed against a child in Brisbane in November last year.
McGuire was charged in December last year. Both alleged offences are said to have been committed against the same child.
At Thursday's hearing, McGuire's lawyer Kim Bryson cross-examined the child's mother, who was asked about conversations she had with certain people following the alleged incident. The woman, who cannot be named in order to protect the child's identity, told the court she could not recall discussing the matter with some of those people.
While giving evidence, the woman agreed she had taken the child to a police station in the days after the alleged incident and that officers photographed the child's alleged injuries.
Following that evidence, Bryson told the court her client consented to having his case progress to a higher court. When asked by the magistrate whether he wished to say anything to the charges or enter a plea, McGuire responded, 'no your honour.'
McGuire, who is on bail, applied to have some of his bail conditions varied. Magistrate Belinda Merrin rejected part of that application, stating the allegations were 'extremely serious.' Merrin said there was 'evidence which is consistent with the allegations of choking,' citing 'mainly markings to the complainant child's neck,' and adding that the child's 'immediate demeanour was consistent with there having been something very upsetting having occurred.'
McGuire played NRL between 2009 and 2022 and represented Queensland in State of Origin more than a dozen times. His case is listed to return to court at a later date.
- The specific bail conditions McGuire sought to vary and which part of the application was rejected are not detailed.
- The identity and number of the individuals the child's mother was asked about in cross-examination are not specified.
- The nature of the injuries photographed by police beyond markings to the child's neck is not described.
- No statement from McGuire or his legal team regarding the substance of the allegations is included beyond the in-court responses reported.
- The scheduled date for the next court appearance is not provided.
Read the original at ABC News Australia