An alleged child choker will stand trial after denying allegations he knocked a Canberra child off her bike and rendered the 11-year-old unconscious with intent to rape her.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Anthony James Kenyon, 23, was committed to the ACT Supreme Court for trial on Wednesday after pleading not guilty to charges of third degree sexual assault and choking a person so as to render them insensible or unconscious.
The Calwell man also denies a common assault charge, which magistrate Robert Cook transferred to the superior court as a related offence.
Kenyon has been behind bars since February, when he allegedly carried out an attack previously described by magistrate Beth Campbell as "every parent's worst nightmare".
Police claim he shoved the 11-year-old girl off her bicycle as she rode through Fadden Pines on her way home from school.
He is then accused of dragging the girl along the ground and sitting on her stomach before placing both his hands around her neck and squeezing hard for about 10 seconds.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
The child later told police she tried to push her attacker off, wiggle out from underneath him and scream for help, but all these attempts failed.
"[She] could not breathe and thought she was going to die," police claim in court documents.
A person walking in the area disturbed Kenyon, according to investigators, who say the 23-year-old left the girl and disappeared into some trees in an apparent attempt to hide.
The passerby found the child unconscious and, when she came around, helped her contact her parents.
As the girl's father later drove her from the area, she spotted Kenyon walking towards the Chisholm shops and identified him as her assailant.
The 23-year-old defendant has made two unsuccessful applications for bail since his arrest.
On the second occasion, the ACT Magistrates Court heard police had found "disturbing" digital evidence while conducting a forensic analysis of Kenyon's laptop.
This allegedly showed he had searched pornography websites for the terms "rape", "little", "girl", "young" and "force".
Police also allege he Googled the term "felony murder" in January, a few weeks before the incident.
Kenyon's case is expected to go before the Supreme Court registrar next Thursday, when the process of setting trial dates is set to begin.
His lawyer, Andrew Byrnes, will also return to the Magistrates Court next Friday to seek a costs order that prosecutor Katie McCann has signalled she will oppose.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
