Girl, 15, was sexually assaulted as she lay DYING after horrific car crash - but drunk pervert found groping her breasts gets a slap on the wrist
- Alexander Ian Grant, then 40, molested Cindy Smith on the scene of a car crash
- Grant had given a lift to Cindy and her cousin Mona, 16, in December 1987
- Cindy's clothing had been pushed up around her neck and down to her ankles
- Grant slung his arms across the exposed breasts of Cindy's corpse on the road
A 15-year-old indigenous girl was molested as she lay dying after a car crash in a historic child sex abuse case that saw her assaulter walk free.
Alexander Ian Grant, then 40, had given a lift to Cindy Smith, 15, and her cousin Mona, 16, in Bourke in regional New South Wales in December 1987.
After his ute crashed, Grant sexually assaulted Cindy while Mona was left partially scalped and laying in dirt metres away.
Cindy's body was laid out on a tarpaulin and her clothing had been pushed up around her neck and down to her ankles, The Australian reported.
Grant slung his arms across the exposed breasts of Cindy's corpse.
Two witnesses who first came across scene found Cindy's near-naked body lying next to Grant with her legs together.
But the first police officer to arrive afterwards found the girl's legs had been moved - presumably by Grant - to expose her genitals.
Alexander Ian Grant, then 40, had given a lift to Cindy Smith, 15, and her cousin Mona, 16, in Bourke in regional New South Wales in December 1987. After his ute crashed, he sexually assaulted Cindy
In March this year, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller (pictured) sent a letter to Attorney-General Mark Speakman stating that two independent inquiries found the police handling to be 'adequate'
Cindy's mother and Bourke indigenous elder Dawn Smith said the Director of Public Prosecutions' decision to drop a sexual offence charge against Grant was 'disappointing'.
Three years after the incident, a charge against Grant of 'offer indignity to a dead human body' was dropped just days out from his District Court trial.
Cindy's grieving family weren't aware of the controversial decision, which was one of the reasons he avoided time behind bars.
Last year the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions apologised for failing to inform the family of the withdrawal of charges, but maintained it made the correct legal decision.
'I have not been able to identify any error in the ultimate decision that was made or this office's consideration of the relevant legal issues,' NSW Public Prosecutions, Huw Baker SC, told the family in a letter from last November.
The interfere with corpse charged was dropped because a coroner couldn't determine the exact time Cindy died, and may have been alive when she was assaulted.
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Ms Smith's lawyers have called on the ODPP to reassess its response.
'What was important was the evidence, accepted by the magistrate, that Cindy was dead when she was found by two independent witnesses, and that an alleged offence (moving her legs to expose her genitals) took place after that,' Principal solicitor George Newhouse from the National Justice Project said.
The family is now demanding an inquest into Cindy's death, with her mother arguing the case would have been treated differently if she was white.
'If they had been white girls, it would have been a big issue. It would have been in the paper, there would have been big talk,' Ms Smith said.
Grant's 1990 acquittal attracted no media attention. Ms Smith took off her shoe and threw it at the all-white jury following the verdict.
A high powered legal team got Grant off the charges of culpable driving causing death, arguing that Mona was behind the wheel when the car crashed.
The family is now demanding an inquest into Cindy's death, with her mother arguing the case would have been treated differently if she was white. Pictured: Bourke Police Station
But Grant had previously told police he was the one driving prior to the crash, before changing the version of events.
Investigators failed to test the ute's steering wheel for Mona's fingerprints.
Grant also never faced charges of perverting the course of justice despite having the steering wheel removed from the wreckage a day after the crash.
In March this year, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller sent a letter to Attorney-General Mark Speakman stating that two independent inquiries found the police handling to be 'adequate'.
Mr Fuller said that because Grant is now dead, an inquest into the girls' deaths 'will adduce new or additional information'.
Mona's sister Fiona Smith said the police commissioner's letters angered her.
'I didn't like what I read in the letters. I don't agree with it and neither does [Mona's mother]. 'It's like they're ducking and weaving and no one wants to take responsibility,' she said.
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