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A Brisbane sex worker who was charged alongside a former Sydney-based banker has been committed to stand trial over allegations she tried to procure underage girls for sex.
Shauntelle Elizabeth Went will face a District Court trial on charges of using the internet to procure a person under the age of 16 to engage in a sexual act.
Former Commonwealth Bank executive Christopher James McCann, 50, allegedly engaged Went, 18, to supply the services of two girls aged 14 or 15, the court earlier heard.
McCann, based in Sydney, frequently travelled interstate, and asked Went whether she had younger friends that she worked with, according to previous court hearings.
The court earlier heard McCann was accused of making an arrangement and agreeing on a price to use Went’s services, alongside two underage girls.
Later that evening, Went and the girls attended a five-star hotel in Brisbane’s CBD, the court heard. The girls were not alleged to have entered the room, after McCann contacted the front desk to ask them to leave.
McCann was found dead in Springbrook, in the Gold Coast hinterland, two days after he was released on bail in July last year. His death was not suspicious.
Carolyn Juratowitch, representing Went for her committal hearing, told the court her client did not wish to enter a plea.
Juratowitch also submitted for her client’s bail conditions to be varied, to remove her reporting to police.
“She’s now been on bail in excess of a year. It’s my submission that bail condition is just unnecessary,” she said, adding Went was not a flight risk.
“She is, I think because of her mental health, in fairly regular contact with police for welfare checks in any event and I’m asking that be removed simply because it is not necessary.”
The court heard Went had been charged twice for breaching her bail.
Prosecutor William Orrah told the court that Went had failed to report to police twice, and on the second time, police took her phone for inspection.
Encrypted messaging apps were found on her phone, which were against her bail conditions.
“The facts of the offence have to do with using an internet service to be able to procure a child for these sexual acts,” he said.
He said the encrypted apps were only found because Went had been reporting to police.
The court heard Went had also been charged with wilful damage and threatening violence this year.
Magistrate Belinda Merrin ultimately upheld the existing police reporting conditions, saying it was appropriate to ameliorate the risks.
Cloe Read is the crime and court reporter at Brisbane Times.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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