Man charged with Huxley attack

In Campbelltown, Australia, a 36-year-old carpenter faced the local court with charges stemming from five offences relating to the November 9 assault of a Northmead teenager named Lauren Huxley. Robert Black Farmer, also a resident of Northmead, was arrested by NSW State Protection Group officers.

Ms. Huxley was bashed unconscious, gagged, tied up and doused in petrol. Her attacker then set fire to the house and fled the scene. Firefighters rescued her from the floor of the garage. The 18-year-old remains in a critical condition in intensive care at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.

Police prosecutor Jennifer Chenhall told the court detectives have collected a large amount of forensic evidence and have taken numerous statements. One of the charges against Farmer relating to the assault includes causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. He did not apply for bail and was remanded into custody to face Parramatta Local Court on January 19, 2006.

The arrest comes days after NSW Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, condemned the attack as the worst he had seen in his 40 years of policing and promised that detectives would not rest until the guilty party was caught.