A FORMER Hunter man charged with historical sexual assault and serious violence offences by a strike force investigating the disappearance and suspected murder of four Lake Macquarie women has been hit with an additional charge relating to the abduction of a young girl in 1979.
The 58-year-old chose not to appear on the audio visual link from jail during a brief mention of his matter in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday.
The man, a resort manager in Queensland, was extradited to NSW in January after Strike Force Arapaima detectives charged him with 22 historical offences, including six counts of sexual assault, sexual intercourse without consent, inflict actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse, attempting to choke or strangle, maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm and indecently assaulting a female aged under the age of 16.
The charges relate to three women, who were allegedly sexually assaulted in Lake Macquarie and Gosford between 1979 and 1997. Two of the women were teenagers.
Investigations into the suspected murders uncovered information relating to the unrelated sexual assault allegations which prompted the man's arrest, police have said. And the court heard on Wednesday that there was now a fresh charge of abducting a girl under the age of 16.
The man has not entered any pleas and the matters were adjourned until April 16 for detectives to complete and serve the brief of evidence against him.
Strike Force Arapaima, led by veteran Lake Macquarie detective Sergeant Kristi Faber, was established in April last year to investigate the disappearance of university student Leanne Goodall, 20, after leaving the Star Hotel in December, 1978; dental nurse Robyn Hickie, 18, last seen at a Belmont North bus stop in April, 1979; Amanda Robinson, 14, last seen at a Swansea bus stop while walking home from a school dance in April, 1979 and Gordana Kotevski, 16, who was last seen in 1994 while walking home at Charlestown.
No one has been charged in relation to their disappearances and suspected murders.
The man is a former Belmont High student who worked at Rundles in Newcastle as a teenager before switching to hospitality and landing jobs at some of Queensland's best-known resorts.
Strike Force Arapaima is continuing its investigations into the suspected murders of the four Lake Macquarie women.
In November police appealed to people for information after releasing a photo of a green Holden Torana from the 1970s which was described as a "significant" new lead in the case.
