Historical child sex charges against rugby league "Immortal" Graeme Langlands will remain in the criminal courts after a magistrate ruled attempts to have the case referred to the Mental Health Court were "premature".
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Langlands' defence solicitor, Jessica Burke, had argued her client was unfit for trial.
The six charges of indecently dealing with a girl under 16, dating to 1982, were due to be heard for the first time on December 6 but was brought forward.
Magistrate Colin Strofield ruled the matter was not yet technically "before the court" but the application could be revisited again later.
Langlands has been summonsed to appear on that date but is unlikely to do so due to his health.
The former St George Dragons fullback was charged this month with six counts of indecent dealing with a girl under 16, dating back to the early 1980s on the Gold Coast.
In the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday morning, Ms Burke said Mr Langlands was “very unwell”, suffering from advanced dementia and his health had “deteriorated significantly in the past six months”.
“He’s heavily medicated over the course of each day and his dementia is well advanced and his cognitive abilities decline by the day,” she said.
“There is no prospect of him appearing at any point in time. It’s impossible.”
The 76-year-old remained in a New South Wales nursing home and has yet to appear in court.
His family pledged to defend the allegations, which the court heard stemmed from a single day in 1982, not a series of days.
Ms Burke, who was taking instructions from Langlands daughter, Monique Langlands-Hunt, who has power-of-attorney, tendered a range of medical reports to the court in support of her argument.
She highlighted a July 20 letter from treating GP Dr Annette Roberts to a Queensland police detective, allegedly confirming his “poor health, his failing faculties and his inability to participate in a court proceeding.”
“No one benefits from this matter being delayed,” she said.
“It’s already been delayed by 35 years. The complaint was made in 2015, some 33 years after the allegation is said to have occurred.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Kevin Carmont said he was not objecting to the matter being referred to the court but raised a question over whether the magistrate was legally able to do so at this stage of proceedings.
New South Wales police had laid the charges on behalf of Queensland’s Child Abuse and Sexual Crimes Group in early November but the court heard the summons was not due until December 6.
This complicated the matter as there was a question of whether Mr Langlands was technically “before the court” or not.
“He hasn’t been called upon,” Sergeant Carmont said.
“He’s not before the court.”
Ms Burke rejected any suggestion her client could appear in court via videolink or telephone, saying it had been some time since he had been able to speak on the phone and any such appearance would result in “humiliation”.
Mr Strofield noted that Langlands had been “curiously” allowed to remain out of prison without bail.
“I don’t believe that’s proper at law, your honour,” Sergeant Carmont said.
