A man remains before the courts after a teenage girl was allegedly held against her will at a property in Lake Macquarie.

Lake Macquarie Police responded to reports of a 16-year-old girl allegedly threatened by a man armed with a firearm around 3:45 p.m. on Friday, August 23, 2024. The incident occurred on Martinsville Road, Martinsville, where the girl was reportedly forced into the boot of a sedan and taken to a house on Freemans Drive, Cooranbong, where she was detained overnight.

The following day, around 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024, the girl managed to alert police after being taken to a church in Cooranbong.

A 69-year-old man was arrested shortly afterward and taken to Toronto Police Station. He was charged with several offenses, including:

• Taking a person with intent to commit a serious indictable offense
• Possessing a loaded firearm in a public place
• Carrying a firearm in a manner likely to injure a person or property
• Acquiring a pistol while subject to a firearms prohibition order
• Possessing a firearm at premises subject to a prohibition order

The man appeared before Newcastle Local Court today, Monday, August 26, 2024, where he was formally refused bail. He is set to appear again on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.