Warrnambool man on sex charges to face hearings in July and August

A Warrnambool koori court elder and well-known football umpire is now set to face two separate court hearings in coming months.

Robert Charles 'Locky' Eccles, 69, has been charged with a total of 19 sex offences and appeared in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Friday for a committal mention hearing.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge set down a two-day committal hearing to be held from August 28 in the Geelong Magistrates Court.

That hearing is expected to involve the complainant, his partner and his grandmother, who police allege took the complainant to massage appointments at Mr Eccles' home.

The magistrate said he understood Mr Eccles had a past association with the Warrnambool court.

Mr Lethbridge said it was not appropriate the Warrnambool court be a venue for hearings other than administrative hearings.

"Any other court should hear it. It should be dealt with at another venue," he said.

The magistrate suggested Geelong for the committal hearing and then, if required, Melbourne Magistrates Court - courts and magistrates who had no previous contact with Mr Eccles.

However, on Tuesday Mr Eccles was told in an online magistrates court that a contested two or three-day hearing was listed to start in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on July 25.

At 1.30pm on Friday that contested hearing was still listed to be heard at Warrnambool court.

On Thursday, 7.30am:

A Warrnambool koori court elder is expected to appear in a Warrnambool court for a committal mention hearing on Friday.

The committal mention hearing for Robert Charles 'Locky' Eccles, 69, has been scheduled to be heard in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court alongside another application.

On Tuesday a contested hearing was listed to start in the Warrnambool court on July 25.

That hearing is expected to take two or three days.

On Tuesday: A Koori court elder and former long-time football umpire is now scheduled to face a contested hearing on sex charges in the Warrnambool court late July.

Robert Charles 'Locky' Eccles, 69, appeared in the online Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning for an administrative hearing alongside his lawyer Xavier Farrelly.

Magistrate Timothy Bourke set down the contested hearing to start on Tuesday, July 25, and that hearing is expected to last two or three days.

He said it was hoped a decision could be made by the magistrate involved in the hearing on the Friday of that week or early the next week.

Mr Bourke also ordered that audio of a phone call to Mr Eccles, that is expected to be used in the contested hearing as evidence, be made available to the accused man's lawyer.

The magistrate also declined to approve a suppression order applied for by Mr Farrelly.

Mr Eccles has been charged with 19 offences.

He was charged with 13 historical sex offences in October last year.

Those charges relate to alleged incidents in Warrnambool between February 2006 and December 2008.

Charge sheets obtained by The Standard alleged Mr Eccles exposed his genitals to the complainant, massaged him under his underwear and brushed his fingers against his genitals.

It is also alleged Mr Eccles placed his hand on the complainant's thigh.

On February 3 this year Mr Eccles was arrested again and then charged with an additional six offences, relating to allegations involving a different male victim in about 2012 and 2013.

They included three counts of committing an indecent act with a child aged 16 under care, supervision or authority and three counts of sexual penetration of a child aged 16 under care, supervision or authority.

Mr Eccles, a Gunditjmara elder, previously worked as an Indigenous language educator and sat on Warrnambool's Koori court for more than six years.

He was a highly regarded football umpire with the Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association.

Mr Eccles received a Victorian Senior of the Year volunteer award for his leadership and passion for sport just days before his October charges were laid against him last year.

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