Joshua William Bishop, 39, was refused bail by the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to an alleged indecent assault against a child.
Bail has been refused for a man accused of assaulting two 14-year-old girls in an alleged incident that only ended when bystanders intervened.
It is alleged 39-year-old Joshua William Bishop met the two girls at a shopping centre in Holt on Saturday (28 June) before they went back to his home a short time later.
While there, he allegedly racially abused and assaulted the girls.
“After they attempted to leave the premises, he allegedly grabbed one girl and began to choke her before indecently assaulting her,” an ACT Policing spokesperson said.
“Bystanders were able to stop the man and he was arrested by police a short time later.”
Bishop was handed two counts of common assault, one count of committing an act of indecency on a person under 16 and a choking-related charge when he faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday (30 June).
Sam Collett of Legal Aid, when applying for him to be granted bail, said the court documents for the matter created an allegation of bizarre circumstances in which his client was behaving erratically.
He said his client had lived in Canberra for four years and was on JobSeeker welfare payments from Centrelink.
He said he uses drugs casually once a month, Mr Collett said.
Prosecutor Tamzin Lee, while opposing bail, said Bishop’s neighbour had to intervene to stop part of the alleged offending.
She said he hadn’t known the two girls until they introduced themselves to him.
Magistrate James Lawton said from the court documents it appeared Bishop had been under the influence of an intoxicating substance at the time of the allegations.
The magistrate said he was not satisfied Bishop was a good candidate for bail and refused it, adjourning the matter to 28 July. No pleas were entered.
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 or by visiting www.1800respect.org.au. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
