Tyson Bonfield (centre, unblurred) approaches the ACT Courts for his trial. Photo: Albert McKnight.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to alleged sexual abuse.
When police first confronted a man accused of sexually abusing numerous people, he told them he’d done nothing wrong and described the allegations as “bullshit”.
Tyson ‘Ty’ Bonfield, 46, has pleaded not guilty to 43 charges alleging he committed sexual or indecent offences against 11 people in an ACT Supreme Court jury trial.
It is alleged the abuse took place between the late 2000s and early 2020s against four female members of his own family when they were still children or teenagers, as well as against seven family friends, being three teenage girls, three women and one man.
The alleged abuse was not reported until one of the family members went to her mother in December 2020.
Jurors heard that soon after this, the fourth family member said her mother also asked her if Mr Bonfield had sexually assaulted her too, but she originally told her no.
But in June 2023, the girl spoke to police and claimed he had actually done so.
When she appeared in the courtroom, she said she had been “scared” to tell anyone when the alleged abuse occurred because she was worried about how Mr Bonfield would react.
“I thought that there was going to be no point in coming out, because nothing was going to be done about it,” she said.
But she said when police reopened the case in 2023, she spoke to her mother again and came forward with her own allegations.
“I thought my voice was going to be heard,” she said.
When barrister James Sabharwal cross-examined her, she denied speaking to two other family members about their allegations. She disagreed with the suggestion that Mr Bonfield had never touched her in a sexual way.
Police spoke to Mr Bonfield in January 2024 and told him eight people had made allegations against him at the time, including the four family members.
“I don’t understand this f-ing whole bullshit. All these allegations keep coming up, all this bullshit,” he told them.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
He asked the officers about suing his family members for “harassment”. Police asked him how he was feeling.
“Confused, frustrated, angry,” he replied.
Tyson Bonfield has pleaded not guilty to all charges in his trial. Photo: Albert McKnight.
The interview was paused while Mr Bonfield spoke to a lawyer. When it restarted, he said he had been advised to decline an interview with police and would do so.
But police did take him through a list of allegations made against him.
“What,” he muttered while reading the list and shaking his head.
“Why the f-k are they saying this shit about [me]?
“Sorry, I’m just beside myself. I mean, this is serious shit to take in.”
In a statement read to the court, the aunt of the second adult family friend said she had been contacted by police about an alleged incident she supposedly witnessed between her niece and Mr Bonfield. But she said she did not know what police were referring to.
“I did not see any times when Mr Bonfield was inappropriate,” the aunt said.
“I’m shocked at the allegations … he was always helpful and supportive.”
When the closing submissions began on Wednesday (16 September), ACT Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Trent Hickey said the main issue for the jury to decide was whether or not each allegation happened.
“We would say you simply wouldn’t believe his denials in the face of the evidence of all the women who have come forward to tell us their experiences,” he said.
But Mr Sabharwal said Mr Bonfield had no obligation to explain the charges, did not accept the allegations, and he pointed out issues with the case against his client.
“He’s not obliged to prove his innocence,” the barrister said.
Mr Sabharwal said the first adult family friend never told her boyfriend about the alleged assault even though he was sleeping next to her when it supposedly happened, while the first family member admitted she was “black-out drunk” at the time of her alleged assault.
“Can you be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that what [she] claimed happened?” he said.
Mr Sabharwal said it would have been difficult for his client to assault the second adult family friend while driving his Chrysler 300, as she alleged, without losing control of the car.
Also, he pointed out that one of the teen family friends couldn’t remember if she was 15 or 16 at the time of the alleged act of indecency against her, while there was no evidence that an alleged indecent image that was the subject of one charge actually existed.
The trial continues before Chief Justice Lucy McCallum.
The four family members named in the charges have provided their consent to the media to name Mr Bonfield in reporting. While they were children or teenagers at the time of the alleged offending, they are now all adults.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT on 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
You can also submit an online report about a historical sexual assault allegation for incidents that occurred more than six months ago.
Margaret Freemantle well how long have you been around ? since the billionaires came to town ?? View