If you have been accused of rape in Brisbane or anywhere in Queensland, you need a lawyer who has taken these cases to trial and won them. George Criminal Lawyers is a Brisbane criminal defence practice whose principal, Andrew George, handles every rape matter personally: he gives the advice before any police interview, runs the committal, briefs trial counsel he has worked with before, and sits at the bar table at trial. Rape under s 349 of the Criminal Code (Qld) carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a contested charge is tried before a District Court jury. Call (07) 3067 3000 for a confidential conversation, any time.
Rape charges we have defended
Results first. These are real matters from our published outcomes, with identifying details removed. Every case turns on its own evidence, and a past result is not a prediction for yours.
- Two counts of rape, acquitted at trial. The complainant had taken medication and consumed alcohol and denied consent. We ran actual consent and, because the events pre-dated the 2024 reform, the mistake of fact excuse alongside it. The client gave evidence and the jury acquitted on both counts.
- Two counts of rape, withdrawn before trial. Allegations after a night out, where the complainant said she had no memory of the events leading up to the incident. Hours of CCTV and the witness statements showed significant defects in the prosecution case, which we put to the DPP in a written submission. The DPP withdrew both charges. This matter was decided under the current affirmative consent laws.
- Rape of a work colleague, not guilty after a three-day trial. The client denied the allegation from the first police contact. His early interview, run on our advice, and careful cross-examination exposed an account that did not add up.
- Indecent treatment and rape, acquitted of all charges. An allegation by a young child in a family dispute. Cross-examination of the complainant’s mother established that she had likely influenced the complaint.
The full list, including sexual assault and grooming matters, is in the outcomes section further down this page and on our case results page.
What is rape in Queensland?
Rape in Queensland is defined by s 349 of the Criminal Code. A person rapes another person if, without the other person’s consent, they engage in penile intercourse with that person, penetrate the other person’s vulva, vagina or anus to any extent with a thing or a body part that is not a penis, or penetrate the other person’s mouth to any extent with a penis.
The offence is gender neutral and does not require force or injury. Most contested rape trials in Queensland are not about whether sexual activity happened but about consent: whether the complainant consented, and, for alleged offences before 23 September 2024, whether the accused honestly and reasonably believed they did.
Attempted rape (s 350) and assault with intent to commit rape (s 351) are separate crimes, each carrying 14 years. Sexual assault under s 352 is a different offence again, with its own penalty brackets; our sexual assault lawyers Brisbane page covers it.
What is the penalty for rape in Queensland?
The maximum penalty for rape is life imprisonment. That is the maximum, not the usual sentence. What a court actually imposes on a plea or after a trial depends on the circumstances of the offence, the complainant’s age, any violence or breach of trust, the offender’s history and the strength of the mitigation put before the court. The kind of act alleged matters too. In our experience, digital penetration with a finger or an object commonly attracts a sentence in the range of 2 to 4 years, where penile penetration more commonly attracts 6 to 8 years.
Two features of Queensland sentencing law matter in every rape case. First, where the complainant was a child under 16, s 9(4) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 makes actual imprisonment the starting point unless there are exceptional circumstances. Second, a conviction for rape brings reportable offender obligations under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 where the complainant was a child, and since Daniel’s Law commenced on 31 December 2025 some offenders face public disclosure. Our reportable offender guide explains the regime.
| Charge | Section | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Rape | s 349 | Life imprisonment |
| Attempted rape | s 350 | 14 years |
| Assault with intent to commit rape | s 351 | 14 years |
What happens when you are charged with rape in Queensland?
Rape cannot be dealt with in the Magistrates Court. A contested charge is committed to the District Court for trial before a jury of twelve people. The usual steps in a rape matter are the initial investigation and a police interview, followed by charge through arrest or Notice to Appear, bail, committal in the Magistrates Court, indictment, then trial or a negotiated resolution.
The investigation often runs for weeks before a charging decision. In that window police try to gather admissions, first through a recorded pretext call from the complainant hoping you will apologise or explain, then in a formal interview. What you say in either situation can often decide the case. If you have already done an interview or spoken on a pretext call, those statements can be used against you unless we can have them excluded.
Before trial, the committal lets the defence test disclosure and probe the investigative evidence, within strict boundaries about cross-examining a complainant. Charges are sometimes discontinued or downgraded at this stage, as the withdrawn rape matter above shows. Our stage-by-stage guide to what happens after a sexual offence charge in Queensland covers arrest, bail, the first court date and the committal in detail, and the court process flowchart maps the whole pathway.
How is a rape charge defended?
Every defence case starts with a detailed analysis of the evidence and the applicable law.
Consent, under the rules that apply to the date alleged. The law of consent changed on 23 September 2024. For acts alleged wholly after that date, Queensland has an affirmative consent model: consent means free and voluntary agreement, silence or inaction is not consent, and under s 348A a belief in consent is not reasonable if the accused did not say or do anything to find out whether the other person consented. For earlier events, and many complaints are made years later, the previous law applies and the mistake of fact excuse is significantly broader. Which regime governs your case is one of the first questions we answer. Our guides to affirmative consent and the mistake of fact excuse go deeper.
Reliability and credibility. Inconsistencies between accounts, the context of a delayed complaint, motive to fabricate, and in child cases the influence of adults on the account. This is cross-examination work, prepared from careful analysis of witness statements, cross-referenced and checked against independent sources. Since 23 September 2024, judges must direct juries under s 103ZY of the Evidence Act 1977 that differences in a complainant’s account are common and do not by themselves mean the account is untrue, so we have to work even harder to show the jury why a particular inconsistency matters.
Whether the act occurred at all. In many cases the defence is simply that the allegation is false, and the trial is about whether the prosecution can prove otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.
Identification, where the allegation involves a stranger or a compromised memory.
The tactical decisions along the way matter as much as the trial: disclosure fights, the committal strategy, objections to inadmissible evidence, and whether you give evidence. Trial counsel is never an afterthought. We hand-pick the barrister for your trial from counsel whose work in sexual offence trials we know first-hand, and we prepare every trial as if it will be won or lost on the details, because it usually is.
Word-against-word rape cases
Most rape allegations come with no physical evidence and no independent witness to the act itself. That doesn’t mean the case simply goes away. The complainant’s statement is evidence, and that evidence can often be enough to convict. The prosecution case rests on the complainant’s account and on whatever you have said or written. That does not make the case unwinnable, and it does not make it hopeless for the prosecution either; it makes the surrounding evidence decisive.
Messages before and after, ride-share and phone records, CCTV, what each person told friends in the hours afterwards, medical notes and the timeline of the complaint all become the evidence a jury weighs against the competing accounts. In the withdrawn matter described above, the CCTV and witness statements did the work before a jury was ever empanelled. Preserving that material early, and obtaining what police have not gathered, is where a word-against-word defence is built.
What should you do if you are accused of rape?
- Do not answer calls or messages from the person making the allegation. The pretext call is a standard police tactic and is recorded. Even an apology for an unrelated incident becomes prosecution evidence.
- Do not take part in a police interview before getting advice. You cannot talk your way out of an allegation, but you can talk your way into a charge. Once we know what has been alleged, we will tell you plainly whether an interview could ever help you. Sometimes it can; usually it cannot.
- Preserve everything. Messages, photos, ride-share and bank records, and the names of anyone who saw you that night. Supporting material has a habit of disappearing with time.
- Tell no one except your lawyer. Things said to friends become witness statements. Everything you tell us is privileged.
If bail is or may become an issue, we can negotiate with police before charge so that any arrest happens on your terms, or prepare an urgent bail application.
Why George Criminal Lawyers for a rape charge
Defending rape and sexual offence allegations is one of the core focuses of this practice. Andrew George has defended and won jury trials in this area, had rape charges withdrawn before trial, and kept convictions off the record for clients who chose to plead guilty to sexual assaults. Your matter is run by Andrew from the first call to the verdict; appointments can be made by phone or video, and nothing about your case, including the fact you contacted us, is discussed with anyone without your instructions. You will get honest, non-judgmental advice about where you actually stand.
Contact us for confidential advice. For urgent matters, including a pending interview or arrest, we are available around the clock.
Frequently asked questions
Should I talk to police to clear things up?
Not before getting advice. In a rape investigation the interview is rarely a chance to explain; it is a way of locking in your account before you know what has been alleged. Get advice first. If an interview could genuinely help, we will say so.
Can the complainant withdraw a rape charge?
Once police have charged, the decision to continue belongs to the prosecution, not the complainant. A complainant’s wish to withdraw is something the prosecution will consider. If we think the case is open to negotiation, we will write to the DPP to try to have the charge discontinued or reduced.
Will my name be published if I am charged with rape?
Since late 2023, Queensland law has generally allowed media to identify an adult charged with a sexual offence once charged, though complainants cannot be identified and a court can make a non-publication order in some circumstances. Most matters attract no publicity at all. We factor reputation protection into how the matter is run and can advise on a non-publication order in your situation.
Will I go to jail if I am convicted of rape?
Usually, yes. The maximum is life imprisonment, and a conviction for a sexual offence against a child carries a presumption of actual custody. But conviction is not the inevitable outcome of a charge: rape charges are discontinued, downgraded and defeated at trial, and where a plea is the right course, careful preparation changes the sentence. Get advice about your actual position rather than assuming the worst.
How much does it cost to defend a rape charge?
It depends on the stage the matter reaches: advice during the investigation, a committal, a negotiated resolution or a full District Court trial are very different pieces of work. The first phone conversation is free. After it, you get a written costs agreement with an estimate for each stage before you commit to anything, and we talk it through openly.
Real client outcomes
Trial: Rape
A client was charged with 2 charges of rape in circumstances where the alleged victim had taken medication and consumed alcohol. She denied consent, so a mistake of fact defence was pursued in addition to actual consent. The client gave evidence and was acquitted of both charges.
(This trial pre-dated the 23 September 2024 affirmative-consent reforms, which have since narrowed the mistake of fact excuse for later offences; see our consent law guide.)
Trial: Indecent Treatment & Rape
A client was charged with indecent treatment and rape of his young daughter. Cross-examination of his ex-wife caused significant damage to the prosecution case, establishing the mother had likely influenced the daughter to make a false complaint. The client gave evidence and was acquitted of all charges.
Sentence: Sexual Assault
A client pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a female employee after a work Christmas party. He couldn’t remember details of what happened, so we carefully reviewed the evidence and provided advice on the case and his prospects of conviction. We obtained high-quality references, a letter of apology, and prepared extensive written submissions to the court. The prosecutor asked for a jail sentence, but we achieved a 2 year probation order with no conviction recorded.
Charges Withdrawn: Rape
A client was charged with 2 counts of rape following allegations by a woman he had met on a night out. She said she had no memory of the events leading up to the incident. We carefully analysed hours of CCTV footage and the witness statements, identified significant defects in the prosecution case, and put those defects to the DPP in a detailed written submission arguing the case should be dropped. The DPP agreed and withdrew both charges, an exceptional result in cases that so often come down to one word against another. The client was discharged without facing trial. This matter was resolved under Queensland's current affirmative consent laws, which commenced in September 2024.
Trial: Grooming & Indecent Treatment
A client was charged with grooming and indecent treatment offences alleged to have occurred against his niece over an extended period, and the matter proceeded to trial. We briefed experienced counsel and prepared the matter carefully to press the inconsistencies in the evidence, bring out the background behind the allegations, and test the credibility of the prosecution witnesses. After a 4 day trial, the jury returned verdicts of not guilty on all counts and the client was discharged.
Trial: Rape (Workplace Allegation)
A client was charged with the rape of a work colleague, which he denied from the outset. We assisted him from the initial police interview all the way through to trial, where his early interview and careful cross-examination exposed the problems in the complainant's account: she gave evidence of doing things that simply did not add up. After a 3 day trial he was found not guilty, avoiding the prospect of years in jail.
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