18/9/2021 UPDATE: ACT Federal Labor MP David Smith has since told PEDESTRIAN.TV over email: “Mr Matters’ employment has been terminated. No further comment as the matter is before the courts.”
18/9/2021 ORIGINAL: A 20-year-old federal Labor staffer in the ACT has been charged with two counts of rape from an alleged incident in April.
Alexander Matters, who works for ACT Federal Labor MP David Smith, was arrested by ACT Police last night.
According to an ACT Police media release from this morning, the case was first reported in August before a formal statement related to the incident was delivered to police earlier this week.
“Detectives from ACT Policing’s Criminal Investigations – Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team executed a search warrant in Acton yesterday and subsequently charged the man with one count of sexual intercourse without consent,” the police report read.
“The man is scheduled to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court today (Saturday, 18 September 2021). The maximum penalty for this offence is 12 years imprisonment.”
A few hours after the statement, Matters appeared at the ACT Magistrates Court, where the court formally charged him with two counts of rape.
According to the ABC, Alexander Matters is in his second year of a law degree at the Australian National University (ANU). While his lawyer, Andrew Fraser, applied for bail, the prosecution brought up a statement the 20-year-old made to police about self-harm.
While Fraser defended his client’s comments as “a person in some shock”, Magistrate Peter Morrison told the court he had to consider it and other information from Matters’ ANU college regarding the alleged incident.
We do not know when he will next appear before the court.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to federal ACT Labor MP David Smith and ACT Police for comment.
Stay tuned for more.
Help is available.
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