Ghazal Sawad Talaghane was on a visit to the Darwin Wave Lagoon along with 21 other immigrant detainees when he was reported to authorities by the girls for touching their breasts.
The pool, where the alleged incident occurred, was not sectioned off to prevent contact between the detainees and the primary school girls, who were between the ages of 10 and 12.
The police have charged Talaghane with five counts of indecent assault and one count of indecent dealing with a child under the age of 16.
In court, Talaghane’s defense team argued for bail so he could be allowed to remain in detention in the city’s Airport Lodge under the guard of Serco, a private prison services company. But the police prosecutor argued that Talaghane should be treated like any other person suspected of committing a serious crime.
Talaghane is one of the “boat people” who arrived in Australia illegally by paying human traffickers in Indonesia to carry them to Australia.