A man has pleaded guilty to the rape and kidnapping of a British backpacker after holding her captive for months while travelling across the Queensland outback in 2017.
Marcus Allyn Keith Martin today appeared via video link in Cairns District Court, pleading guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty.
The woman was rescued by police after driving off without paying for fuel from a petrol station in Mitchell in south-west Queensland.
Staff at the petrol station called police with concerns about the backpacker.
Service station owner Beverly Page told the ABC at the time the woman had been crying and was distressed.
"To see a young girl that upset, and with black eyes. She had said she had come from England. To know that she was over here and she didn't have anyone to contact," Ms Page said.
When police caught up with the four-wheel-drive the pair had been travelling in Martin was found hiding in an alcove in the rear of the vehicle.
Prosecutors discontinued 10 other charges including eight counts of rape, one of serious cruelty to animals, and torture, given Martin's guilty plea.
Martin earlier pleaded guilty to supplying dangerous drugs, wilful damage, assault occasioning bodily harm and choking or strangulation.
He has been remanded in custody and will next appear in February 2019, when a sentence date will be set.
