Warrnambool businessman granted bail

The 54-year-old businessman appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday where he made a successful bail application.

The court heard Mr Ryan had been in protective custody since being remanded in June.

Mr Ryan was originally charged in May with assault, kidnapping, sexual penetration of a child aged under 16 years and two counts of sexual penetration of someone aged under 18.

The charges are historic and relate to a then 15-year-old girl.

Then in June police charged the man with allegedly attempting to pervert the course of justice and intimidating a witness.

He appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court at the time where police alleged Mr Ryan rang the complainant requesting her to drop the charges. He was deemed an unacceptable risk of re-offending and refused bail.

Further charges were then filed in August which allegedly involved three additional complainants dating back to 2015.

Mr Ryan now faces 39 charges, including 11 charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16, seven of committing an indecent act with a child under the age of 16 years, seven charges of sexual assault of a child aged between 16 and 17 years and who was under the supervision of an adult, one charge of kidnapping and one charge of assault.

The bulk of the charges relate to the first complainant.

On Thursday Justice Stephen Kaye said the alleged offending against the four complainants was serious and involved a breach of trust by Mr Ryan.

But he said the prosecution did not oppose bail and Mr Ryan wasn't an unacceptable risk of re-offending if strict bail conditions were put in place.

He said Mr Ryan had no criminal history and a stable residence in Daylesford, in the Hepburn region, making him "well removed" from where the alleged offending occurred in Warrnambool.

Justice Kaye said it was also submitted the accused man had significant family support and that if granted bail would reside with his son Connor Ryan - who told the court he'd taken out a personal loan in order to forfeit a $5000 bail surety.

The court heard Mr Ryan intended to contest the charges and there could be a "substantial delay" before his matter reached a trial.

In his ruling Justice Kaye said the defence submitted there were triable issues, including there being no forensic or corroborative evidence, and that Mr Ryan had denied the offending in a lengthy interview with police.

Justice Kaye said it was also submitted Mr Ryan had suffered "quite onerous" conditions in custody.

He said the man had been in protected custody since his remand in June, personal visits were suspended and he had restricted access to legal advice.

He said he was particularly concerned Mr Ryan had difficulty accessing the hand-up brief and he was unable to engage in the important task of preparing his defence.

Justice Kaye said it was all those factors in combination that resulted in Mr Ryan showing exceptional circumstances why he should be released from custody.

Mr Ryan was bailed with conditions, including he live in Daylesford, report to police three times a week and comply with court orders and not engage in employment or training with female children under the age of 18.

He will appear in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on November 25.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: