Father Comes to Defense of Son Charged over Gang-Rape of Australian Teen Caught on Cam

By Marvie Basilan, Christian Post Contributor Friday, October 16, 2015

After learning that his son was charged with "concealing a serious indictable offense," James Carlyle-Watson said his son did not commit any crimes related to the gang-rape of a teenage girl that he and his friends were allegedly involved in.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, James told Fairfax media that his son, Tristan Carlyle-Watson, "doesn't want to do that," referring to the gang-rape of the girl that was recorded in a 16-minute GoPro camera.

Mr. Carlyle-Watson noted that his son "has girlfriends all over the place," and he said his son wasn't involved in the "actual" rape. While police have not yet ruled that his son is involved in the rape itself, he has been charged with keeping information that is key to the case after he told the victim via a text message in the morning after the incident that "nothing happened."

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The outlet reported that prosecutor Varinder Pawar believes there is information that has not been disclosed by the men charged and taken into custody. Pawar also noted that Tristan did not try to help the "unconscious" victim during the assault.

While Carlyle-Watson is considered not a principal offender since he was not among the people caught on tape sexually assaulting the girl, Magistrate Mark Douglass mentioned his previous convictions, including stalking, intimidating, and using a carriage service to harass.

According to CNN, five men have been arrested on Wednesday, including a 17-year-old boy, who was also charged with resisting arrest, and Carlyle-Watson. The other three are namely Andrew Waters, 23, Kurt Stevenson, 24, and Ayden Devereux, 24. The charges laid out range from "aggravated sexual assault in company" to "filming a person engaged in a private act."

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans from the Child Abuse Squad said investigators are convinced after viewing the video that the victim was "either unconscious or semi-conscious" when the men took turns sexually assaulting her.