A 27-year-old man, accused of attacking and threatening a 15-year-old after she repeatedly refused his advances was granted bail when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

Omar Myers appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown to answer to charges of assault.

The court was told that the accused man, who loads buses at Half-Way Tree, took a liking to the complainant. It is alleged that he would often harass the complainant and demanded to have a relationship with her. The court was also told that on several occasions, he pulled the complainant aggressively and twisted her hands. The complainant reportedly told the police that she had been warned that she would be abducted and raped if she did not submit to his advances.

Constant nuisance

It is alleged that Myers was a constant nuisance to the complainant, who travelled from Half-Way Tree on a daily basis.

Myers' lawyer, however, said his client had denied the allegations and told the court that the complainant had not been directly threatened but had been informed of the alleged threat by 'Chinese telephone'. He also said his client did not load buses but, operated a stall.

RM Brown called for more police personnel to be stationed at the transport centre, saying: "There needs to be at least six special constables there to detect the robots and to nab these rapists posing as taxi operators. We need more officers to protect our citizens."

Myers was granted $10,000 bail in his own surety. As part of his bail, he was ordered not to be seen in the Half-Way Tree area and to stay away from the complainant.