Overview
- Defence barrister Tom Percy said the case was unsalvageable and argued Helen Cable’s testimony was the telling blow that undercut the complainant’s account.
- Prosecutor Kim Jennings described the alleged offending as brazen and urged the court to allow for a child’s 60-year-old memory of locations, saying the complainant recalled intimate details of abuse.
- Barry Cable, 82, denies five counts of indecent dealing with a girl under 13 and two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge, alleged to have occurred at his Perth home between December 31, 1966 and December 31, 1969.
- Departmental documents from the early 1970s suggesting the girl stayed with the Cables were shown in court, while Helen Cable denied any visits to the orphanage or that the child was ever at their home.
- Three other women testified about separate alleged abuse in the 1970s and 1980s that is not charged in this case, a 2023 civil ruling previously found Cable abused a different girl, and Judge Michael Bowden will deliver a verdict by April 17.