A fruit picker from Vanuatu living in Australia on a foreign worker’s visa has been charged with raping a teenage girl in tropical Far North Queensland.
Claude Kalo allegedly raped the girl at Mareeba, a town with a population of approximately 12,000, about 65km south-west of Cairns on the Atherton Tablelands,
The 31-year-old, who was staying at nearby Dimbulah, appeared before Atherton Magistrates Court on March 7 when he was remanded in custody.
He has been charged with rape, assault with intent to commit rape and indecent treatment of a child under 16.
Vanuatuan fruit picker Claude Kalo (above) has been charged with raping a teenage girl while on a seasonal foreign worker’s visa in tropical Far North Queensland
Kalo is a fitness fanatic who once represented Vanuatu in judo and previously lived in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
He is the second foreign fruit picker to be charged with rape while working in Australia in the past two months.
Daily Mail Australia contacted five members of Mareeba Shire Council, including mayor Angela Toppin, and none had heard about the alleged rape in their town.
Councillor Locky Bensted said he was shocked to learn of the allegation, which he expected to rock the community when it became known.
‘There are a lot of large families that have called Mareeba home for many generations,’ he said. ‘They will be totally shocked by this, as I am.
‘We are a multicultural farming and business community with over 77 different cultures who all live and reside here.
‘The community will be outraged once this comes to light, that’s for sure.’
Councillor Danny Bird said when news of the alleged rape reached the community, ‘they’re going to go nuts’.
Councillor Mario Mlikota said: ‘I think definitely there will be anger’.
Kalo is a fitness fanatic who represented Vanuatu in judo and previously lived in the Northern Rivers region of NSW
Another local source said up to 300 workers from Vanuatu lived and worked in the Mareeba region, picking produce including bananas, mangoes and avocados.
The Vanuatuan presence increased when backpackers could not travel to the area during the Covid-19 pandemic and farmers turned to the Pacific Islands for help.
Most of the Vanuatuan workforce is temporarily employed under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) visa scheme and numbers peak over summer.
Visa-holders often stay on the farms where they work but some live in share accommodation in towns including Mareeba and Dimbulah.
The Queensland Police Service would not provide any details of the alleged attack on the teenage girl including when it allegedly occurred.
‘Given the [alleged] victim’s age and that this matter will be subject to a closed court judicial process we are not at liberty to provide any further information,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Ultimately, we see it as our role to protect the identity of any victims, particularly where a child is involved.’
Claude Kalo allegedly raped a teenage girl at Mareeba (above), a town with a population of approximately 12,000 about 65km south-west of Cairns on the Atherton Tablelands
The QPS did not issue a media statement at the time about the girl’s alleged rape or the man’s arrest and the charges he is facing.
‘On occasions, you will see us release information in cases where there has been an adult victim, if we believe it is in the public interest or if we believe there may be further victims who may come forward,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘But never for instances where there is [an alleged] child victim.’
The PALM scheme encourages workers to come to Australia from countries including Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga and Kiribati as well as Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.
Visa-holders can work in Australia for up to nine months in any 12-month period before returning to their home countries, and can come back in subsequent years.
A Samoan fruit picker working near Arrawarra on the NSW mid-north coast earlier this year over the alleged rape of a teenage girl. Pickers are pictured near Arrawarra
A Samoan fruit picker working on a PALM visa was arrested on the NSW mid-north coast earlier this year over the alleged rape of a teenage girl.
Police charged 25-year-old Samoan national Agaalofa Agaalofa on January 30 with aggravated sexual assault – deprive liberty, as well as aggravated robbery.
The teenager reported being allegedly dragged into bushes and raped in broad daylight on November 10 while walking home near Arrawarra Beach.
Up to 400 foreign workers live in close quarters at Arrawarra and share transport to work the fields planted by Costa Berries at Corindi, about 5km north.
Arrawarra is otherwise a popular destination for surfers, backpackers and holidaymakers in caravans who flock to the village for its idyllic waterfront location.
Locals have complained about episodes of drunkenness and aggressive behaviour by some of the seasonal workers who they claim turn the place into a shanty town.
Following the alleged rape the migrant workers were moved out of the holiday park and sent back to their home countries or elsewhere in Australia.
A Mareeba local said up to 300 workers from Vanuatu lived and worked on the region’s farms (above), picking produce including bananas, mangoes and avocadoes
NSW Police did not issue a press release when Agaalofa was charged.
Another Samoan berry picker was initially accused of raping the girl and spent two months in jail before Agaalofa was arrested at Dirty Creek, about 12km north-east of Arrawarra.
When Agaalofa faced a magistrate the next day police prosecutor Jack Chaffey said the results of DNA testing had ‘significantly changed’ the direction of the investigation.
Agaalofa, who does not speak English, had been living at the Arrawarra Beach Holiday Park and was employed picking blueberries at the Costa farm.
Sergeant Chaffey told the court a mobile phone belonging to the teenager had been taken during her alleged rape and tracked to Agaalofa’s residence.
Agaalofa’s DNA matched evidence gathered from a sexual assault kit completed by the teenager, Sergeant Chaffey told the court.
The court also heard a female DNA profile had been detected on clothing found at Agaalofa’s accommodation and identified by the alleged victim as hers.
Sergeant Chaffey said Agaalofa had committed multiple ‘heinous’ sext acts against the teenager during a protracted assault, the ABC reported.
‘The [alleged] victim made efforts to fight back and call for assistance, but was physically overpowered,’ Sergeant Chaffey told the court.
Agaalofa’s lawyer John Hennessy said his client refuted the police statement of facts about the alleged rape and would challenge the charges, as he made an application for bail.
Mr Hennessy said Agaalofa had never met the teenager and had recently been living in Grafton where he was employed picking berries.
Magistrate Hugh Donnelly remanded Agaalofa in custody after expressing concerns about him failing to appear in court.
Agaalofa will return to Coffs Habour Local Court on March 27.
Kalo, who is being held at the Lotus Glen Correctional Centre 25km south of Mareeba, will appear in Mareeba Magistrates Court on May 7.
A spokeswoman for Home Affairs said the department did not discuss individual cases and referred inquiries about the PALM scheme to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).
A spokeswoman for DEWR told Daily Mail Australia: ‘As both matters are now before the courts, it would be inappropriate for the department to comment’.
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