One-time Coalition Government minister Trevor John Perrett, 79, will appear in court next week on a series of child sex offences.
Perrett faces 24 counts of indecent treatment of a child. He was charged on February 2 and the case was first reported by the ABC today.
The alleged offences took place in Brisbane, Toowoomba and Roma between December 1974 and January 1977, when Perrett was a grazier aged in his thirties.
“The charges relate to ongoing investigations into alleged historical offences,” a police spokeswoman said.
Perrett was the Member for Barambah for 10 years from 1988 to 1998, starting out as a maverick Citizen’s Electoral Council candidate before joining the National Party. He was a minister in the Coalition government of then premier Rob Borbidge before losing his seat to One Nation.
Before entering politics, Perrett was a married, member of the Church of Christ, and an acolyte of local conservative strongman Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. He has a daughter and a son, Tony, who is the current Liberal National Party member for the seat of Gympie.
The investigation was reportedly led by police based in Townsville. Perrett, who is understood to live in Petrie, is due to appear in Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on Monday.