A Middle Eastern man has been charged with raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint after meeting him at a Sydney train station.
Malik Bilal Ahmad, 33, was refused bail on Wednesday after appearing via audiovisual link in Mount Druitt Local Court on charges of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14, and intentionally sexually touch a child between 10 and 16.
Ahmad allegedly approached the boy, who was waiting at Mount Druitt railway station at about 1.15am on August 15, and lured him to a nearby park where he threatened him with a knife and sexually assaulted him before leaving in a white van, police said.
Police then arrested Ahmad, a married father-of-three, on Tuesday, and Detective Chief Superintendent Grant Taylor appealed for information from the public about a white 2024 Toyota HiAce van seen in the area with heavily tinted windows and sliding doors.
It was driven by a man of Middle Eastern appearance, in his early 30s with dark, curly hair and a full beard. When asked by reporters if police feared there may be other victims, Taylor said: “We have concerns this may well be the case”.
Taylor also praised the alleged victim for coming forward immediately, saying he showed “immense courage”, and urged other children to come forward if they had sexual assault allegations of their own.
Ahmad’s lawyer Aqib Javed asked for his client to be granted bail, saying he suffered from a gunshot injury to the leg and severe stomach issues, and that his wife of 14 years could not drive and had no source of income, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
But Magistrate Bree Chisholm refused bail, citing an “overwhelming prosecution case” and that “community protection looms large”.
“It is in the public’s interest for him to remain in custody,” she said.
Ahmad will appear in Penrith Local Court on October 18.
