Jury acquits Ballarat murderer of teen rape charge
A County Court jury found Lachlan Young not guilty of raping a 16-year-old, despite his earlier conviction for murdering his girlfriend Hannah McGuire.
Lachlan Young, already serving a 28-year term for the murder of his girlfriend Hannah McGuire, faced a separate rape trial in Melbourne. A County Court jury on Thursday returned a not-guilty verdict for the February 5, 2024 incident in which a 16-year-old claimed Young forced sexual intercourse at a neighbour's Sebastopol home. Evidence showed the teenager accepted some sexual contact but denied consent to intercourse, and Young asserted the activity ceased once he learned her age.
The court was barred from hearing details of his murder case, and a gag order was in place until the rape verdict was announced. Young remains incarcerated at Barwon Prison, with his murder sentence set to run until August 2052 and the earliest parole date in 2046. The case highlights the legal separation of concurrent criminal proceedings.
Why it matters
The verdict shows how separate charges are tried independently, even when the defendant is already serving a lengthy murder sentence.
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