Knicker Thief Knicked

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA – A snowdropper caught with a secret stash of his neighbour’s lacy knickers was dobbed in by his transvestite niece, in a bizarre case heard at a Cairns court yesterday.

A former lingerie saleswoman told the court she returned from a month’s holiday to discover most of her panties were missing from her North Cairns unit.

After asking her boyfriend if he had been wearing her underwear, the woman questioned her neighbour’s niece about the disappearance of the knickers.

The niece, who was asked to clarify her name and gender by the defence lawyer, later phoned Crime Stoppers when she found six pairs of panties in her uncle’s bedroom.

Shane Michael Hillan, 50, pleaded not guilty to possessing suspected stolen property and said the panties belonged to his English tutor, who left them there after showering.

He had earlier told police the underwear was owned by his ex-girlfriend.

However, after hearing the evidence, Magistrate Trevor Black found Hillan guilty and placed him on a 12-month good behaviour bond.

During the hearing, Hillan’s niece testified that when she was putting away laundry, she noticed the collection of lacy panties in a chest of drawers and called the police.

The owner of the stolen knickers told the court she could easily identify the underwear because she used to sell lingerie and only bought a specific brand.

“When you’ve got underwear that’s a particular brand, style and size, you know,” she said.

The woman said she was away in Victoria for about a month in March and when she came home most of her underwear was gone.

“I knew things were missing,” she said.

“I even asked my boyfriend, ‘Have you been wearing my underwear?’ ”

She said she was disturbed that someone else had her knickers, but said: “I just thought, whoever’s got it, I hope they’re enjoying it”.

“I wouldn’t wear them now because who know’s where they’ve been.”

Courtesy Cairns.com.au: Australia